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REMINISCENCES 


OF 


OLD  NORTHAMPTON 


SKETCHES   OF  THE   TOWN   AS   IT   APPEARED 

FROM   1840   to   1850 


BY 

HENRY   S.    GERE 

EDITOR  OP   HAMPsinRE  GAZETTE 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS 


1902 


UNIVERS!]  /  OF 
MASSACHUSriTS 

AMHERST,  MASS. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

The  Reminiscences  of  Old  Northampton,  contained  in 
this  book,  were  mostly  written  in  a  series  of  eight  arti- 
cles of  three  to  four  columns  each,  and  published  in  the 
Hampshire  Gazette  in  the  spring  of  1902.  There  had 
been  published  in  the  Gazette  a  considerable  number  of 
old-times  articles  by  some  of  the  older  residents  of  the 
town,  and  when  these  were  completed  the  writer  under- 
took to  give  some  of  his  recollections  of  his  early  years 
here.  So,  sitting  in  his  easy  chair,  in  the  long  days  and 
evenings  of  the  winter,  book  and  pencil  in  hand,  he  put 
upon  paper  these  sketches.  They  were  written  with  no 
thought  that  they  would  appeai^in  any  other  than  news- 
paper form,  but  they  awakened  so  much  interest,  espe- 
cially among  the  older  people,  that  there  was  a  call  for 
their  publication  in  a  form  more  convenient  for  reference 
and  preservation.  Some  additions  and  corrections  have 
been  made,  and  such  illustrations  are  given  as  serve  to 
present  a  good  view  of  the  center  of  the  town  when  it 
was  .a  rural  abode  of  unusual  beauty.  The  aim  was  to 
bring  to  view,  in  a  concise  form,  as  much  of  the  old- 
time  aspect  of  the  center  of  the  town  as  could  be  gath- 
ered. People  come  and  go  ;  generations  pass  away  ;  mem- 
ories fade  and  disappear;  but  that  which  is  recorded 
remains  and  abideth  forever.  Some  of  the  facts  herein 
given  may  seem  unimportant,  but  they  are  a  part  of  the 
notable  history  of  this  notable  town,  and  in  the  coming 
years  interest  in  them  may  increase.  As  such,  they  are 
given  to  the  public,  and  respectfully  dedicated  to  the 
coming  generations.  h.  s.  g. 


CHAPTER   I. 

VALUE  OF  PARTICULARS  OF  OLDEN  TIMES — BOY  COMES  TO  TOWN — WORKS 
FOR  C.  C.  NICHOLS  —  NEW  ENGLAND  GUARDS  FROM  BOSTON  MAKE 
THE  TOWN  A  VISIT — THE  BUGLE  OF  THE  OLD  CANAL — TIPPECANOE 
AND  TYLER,  TOO,  CAMPAIGN  OF  1840  —  SUNDAY  NIGHT  POLITICAL 
RALLIES — FEW   HOUSES  ON   UPPER  ELM  STREET. 

I  love  everything  that's  old  :  — old  friends, 
old  times,  old  manners,  old  books,  old  wine. 

— Goldsmith. 

Stirred  hy  reading  the  very  interesting  reminiscences  of 
"Old  Northampton"  by  some  of  its  "old-timers,"  which 
have  recently  appeared  in  the  Gazette,  I  have  written  out 
some  of  my  own  recollections  of  the  town,  as  it  appeared 
to  me  in  the  earlier  years  of  my  residence  here.  I  may  not 
be  able  to  give  much  that  is  new  to  the  older  residents  now 
living,  but  what  I  may  chronicle  may  awaken  in  them 
some  old  memories,  which  it  will  be  pleasant  to  recall  once 
more.  I  am  moved  to  do  this  now,  while  I  am  physically 
able  to  do  it,  for  I  realize  that  the  coming  years  for  me  are, 
at  most,  but  few. 

It  was  a  happy  thought  that  prompted  the  preparation 
and  publication  of  these  reminiscences  of  the  olden  days 
at  this  time,  for  soon  there  will  be  few,  if  any,  here  living, 
who  can  boast  of  a  residence  in  the  town  dating  back  to 
1840.  When  these  few  are  gone,  who,  then,  will  tell  of  the 
people  and  events  of  those  early  times,  now  of  so  much 
interest  ?  I  look  around  me  and  see  but  a  small  number  of 
men  of  my  age,  who  have  lived  fifty  or  sixty  years  in 
Northampton.  A  few  years  ago  there  were  many  such. 
But  in  the  last  few  years   their   ranks   have   been  sadly 


thinned.  The  "old-timers''  who  occasionally  come  back 
to  the  place  of  their  birth  from  far  away,  like  Isaac  Par- 
sons and  his  brother,  "Colonel  Joe,"  sons  of  old  "  Cap'n 
Sam,"  and  Col.  Clark  of  Washington,  son  of  Isaac  Clark, 
the  druggist,  and  Judge  Charles  A.  Dewey  of  Milford,  son 
of  a  supreme  court  judge  bearing  the  same  name,  they 
walk  our  streets  looking  in  vain  for  the  familiar  faces  and 
forms  which  they  used  to  see  here.  Gone  they  are,  and 
sadly  missed,  the  old-timers  of  the  past,  and  with  them 
has  gone  the  rich  memory  of  the  eventful  years  in  which 
they  lived. 

It  is  wise  now,  for  the  living  to  chronicle  what  they  can 
of  the  appearance  of  the  town  and  of  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  people  in  the  early  times.  Some  of  the 
things  thus  chronicled  may  seem  of  small  importance  to 
the  new-comers,  those  whose  interest  in  bygone  matters  is 
little,  but,  as  the  years  increase,  these  small  things  may 
become  of  large  magnitude.  What  would  we,  the  few  that 
are  left  of  the  "old  guard,"  give  for  a  minute  description 
of  the  old  town  as  it  appeared  a  hundred  years  ago  ?  And 
what  a  priceless  thing  it  would  be,  if  the  veil  could  be 
lifted  and  we  could  see  the  town  and  its  people  at  a  much 
earlier  date.  What  curiosity  and  pleasure  would  fill  one's 
soul  if  he  could  look  into  the  "old  church"  on  a  Sunday 
service  in  the  eighteenth  century  and  view  the  preacher 
and  the  congregation.  Their  quaint  dress,  their  plain  man- 
ners, their  devotional  attitiule,  their  systematic  arrange- 
ment of  sitting  in  the  pews  in  the  order  of  standing  in  the 
community,  the  curious  pews,  the  more  curious  pulpit,  the 
elevated  "sounding  board,"  the  old-fashioned  choir,  the 
old-time  singing,  the  old-time  chorister,  the  old-time  dea- 
cons, seated  in  front,  the  unique  service,  the  long  prayer, 
the  longer  sermon,  the  standing  in  prayer  time,  the  tyth- 
ingmali, — all  these,  with  the  piimitive  architecture  of  the 
"  meeting  house,"  the  bell  rope  near  the  front  entrance, 
the  horsesheds  in  the  rear,  would  give  a  charm  to  the  pic- 
ture far  outranking  anything  visible  in  these  later  days  or 
that  has  been  handed  down  to  us  from  the  "old  masters." 


What  would  be  the  value  of  a  view  of  Gov.  Strong,  and 
Major  Joseph  Hawley,  and  Dr.  Ebenezer  Hunt,  and  Col. 
Seth  Pomeroy,  and  Asahel  Pomeroy,  and  Col.  John  Stod- 
dard, as  they  appeared  in  our  streets,  and  at  their  homes, 
and  in  the  church,  and  the  town  meetings  ?  And  if  one 
could  see  Jonathan  Edwards,  as  he  appeared  in  the  pulpit 
of  our  "old  church,"  or  walking  in  these  streets,  what  a 
pleasure  it  would  be. 

But  those  scenes'are  gone  and  forever  closed.  The  past 
can  only  be  viewed  by  what  is  recorded.  Thei'efore  I 
write.  And  let  him  who  reads  and  feels  inspired  to  add  to 
the  record  of  these  reminiscences,  let  him  write  also. 

t 

WORKS   FOR   THE   NOBILITY   IN   THE   YEAR   OF   THE 
GREAT   HARRISON   CAMPAIGN. 

The  writer's  recollections  of  Northampton  date  back  to 
1810,  when,  a  lad  of  twelve  years,  he  spent  the  spring, 
summer  and  fall  of  that  year  doing  chores  and  various 
other  work  for  Charles  C.  Nichols,  who  then  owned  and 
occupied  the  fine  residence  on  Prospect  street  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  Henry  R.  Hinckley.  Mr.  Nichols  had  been 
a  merchant  in  Boston  and  came  to  Northampton  in  his  later 
years  to  spend  at  his  ease  his  remaining  days  and  the 
wealth  which  he  had  accumulated.  He  was  a  relative  of 
the  Whitmarshes,  Samuel  and  Thomas,  who  then  lived 
where  Mr.  Frank  Lyman  and  Col.  H.  L.  Williams  now 
reside  in  ward  four.  The  Whitmarshes  were  at  that  time 
extensively  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  the  mulberry  and 
the  feeding  of  silkworms  for  cocoons.  The  mulberry  and 
silkworm  fever  was  at  its  height.  Mr.  Nichols  was  engaged 
in  that  for  a  time  exhilarating  business  and  had  a  cocoonery 
in  the  loft  of  the  long  shed  in  the  rear  of  his  house.  When 
the  worms  were  fed  with  mulberry  leaves  they  made  a  noise, 
which  was  perceptible  at  a  considerable  distance.  He  had 
a  large  mulberry  field  opposite  the  poor-house,  and  my  first 
night  in  town  was  spent  in  a  small  house  that  stood  on  that 
lot  and  was  occupied  by  a  quack  docter  named  Roberts. 


Ill  tlie  morning  they  mounted  me  on  a  very  large  horse  and 
set  me  at  work  riding  him  back  and  forth  among  the  mul- 
berry trees,  cultivating  them  after  the  manner  of  corn 
cultivation. 


THE   NEW    ENGLAND   GUARDS   COME  TO  TOWN   PROM   BOSTON. 

In  July,  1840,  the  town  was  honored  with  a  visit  from  the 
New  England  Guards  of  Boston,  a  fine  military  company, 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  Bigelow.  This  visit  of  the 
Guards  stirred  the  town  like  the  coming  of  a  triumj^hant 
army.  It  was  arranged  that  when  the  Guards  should  reach 
the  borders  of  the  town  a  signal  should  be  given  to  notify 
the  inhabitants.  So,  when  the  Guards  arrived  at  Hockanum 
ferry,  a  cannon  stationed  on  the  summit  of  Round  Hill 
boomed  forth  the  announcement. 

They  came  on  a  Monday  and  remained  until  Saturday, 
camping  on  the  northeasterly  slope  of  Round  Hill,  near 
where  the  houses  of  Judge  Bassett  and  L.  A.  Dawson  now 
stand  on  Orescent  street.  They  were  accompanied  by  Ken- 
dall's famous  military  band,  which  stirred  the  town  with 
its  fine  martial  music.  I  remember  seeing  the  Guards 
march  through  Prospect  street,  to  their  camping-ground. 
It  was  a  great  sight,  for  a  boy — the  Guards  from  Boston  ! 
There  was  a  large  collection  of  boys  flanking  the  Guards  as 
they  marched,  and  among  the  number  was  ''  Kitty  Clarke," 
since  grown  to  be  our  respected  citizen  and  city  forester, 
Christopher  Clarke.  The  zeal  which  he  displayed  in  keep- 
ing close  to  the  band  made  quite  as  enduring  an  impression 
upon  my  mind  as  the  music  and  the  soldiers.  The  Guards 
were  entertained  at  a  picnic  given  by  the  ladies  and  held  in 
Hubbard's  grove  on  the  bank  of  the  Connecticut  river  about 
a  mile  north  of  the  village.  The  Guards  afterwards  enter- 
tained the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  town  at  their  camp. 
Music  and  dancing  were  in  order  at  both  entertainments. 

At  that  time,  Moses  Breck  lived  in  an  old  brown  house 
that  stood  on  Elm  street,  opposite  the  Prospect  street  junc- 


tion.  He  had  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  arising  from  his 
excessive  zeal  in  the  temperance  cause,  and  his  buildings 
were  set  on  fire  several  times.  The  late  William  F.  Quigley 
worked  for  Mr.  Breck  that  summer,  and  I  remember  seeing 
him  gathering  the  hay  crop  on  the  Napier  lot,  now  owned 
by  Oscar  Edwards. 

The  Talbots  lived  on  the  Judge  Howe  place,  now  the 
Capen  school,  and  there  was  no  house  between  the  Talbot 
place  and  the  Henshaw  place,  now  owned  by  Bishop  F.  D. 
Huntington.  The  place  now  occupied  by  Dr.  Blodgett 
and  previously  by  Henry  Bright  was  then  known  as  the 
"  Bowers  place. '^  It  embraced  all  the  land  on  the  east  to 
King  street,  on  which  street  there  was  no  building,  and 
none  of  the  land  could  be  bought.  Jabez  French,  carpenter, 
father  of  the  late  Marvin  M.  French,  lived  on  the  north  cor- 
ner of  Prospect  and  Summer  streets,  and  Edward  Clarke, 
brother  of  John  Clarke,  the  merchant  and  banker,  lived  on 
Round  Hill,  his  house  now  forming  a  part  of  the  buildings 
of  the  Clarke  Institution. 

Mr.  Nichols  had  a  cow  pasture  northwesterly  of  Round 
Hill,  entering  it  through  a  gate  at  the  northerly  end  of 
Franklin  street,  near  what  was  called  the  "  farm  house." 
This  *' farm  house''  was  connected  with  the  Round  Hill 
school  of  Cogswell  &  Bancroft  when  it  was  in  successful 
operation  from  1823  to  1835.  The  pasture  lot  is  now  crossed 
by  Arlington  and  Massasoit  streets,  and  is  well  covered 
with  houses.  On  the  way  to  and  from  this  pasture  with 
Mr.  Nichols'  cow  I  used  to  stop  occasionally  in  the  cider 
season  at  the  cider  mill  of  Ansel  Jewett,  opposite  his  resi- 
dence on  Elm  street.  Mr.  Jewett  was  a  man  rather  short 
in  stature,  but  he  made  up  in  activity  what  he  lacked  in 
size.  The  cider  mill  was  about  where  the  Paradise  road  is 
now.  The  apples  were  unloaded  on  the  east  side  of  the 
mill  and  the  cider  drawn  off  in  the  basement  opening  on 
the  west  side. 


THE    OLD    CANAL. 

The  New  Haven  and  Northampton  canal  was  in  a  wan- 
ing condition  in  1840,  but  boats  were  running.  I  distinctly 
remember  hearing,  on  a  pleasant  summer  morning,  the 
music  of  the  bugle  which  was  used  on  the  boats  to  announce 
their  arrival  and  departure  after  the  manner  of  the  bugle 
announcement  of  the  coming  of  the  old  stage  coaches.  The 
boat  which  had  this  bugle  music  was  passing  at  a  point  near 
Park  street.  The  storehouse  now  used  for  Warren's  livery- 
stable  and  a  blacksmith's  shop  was  in  use  for  storing  goods 
for  transportation.  In  the  winter  of  1841-42,  while  attend- 
ing school  at  Williston  Seminary,  I  skated  from  East- 
hampton  to  Northampton  and  returned  on  the  canal.  The 
canal  was  but  little  used  after  that  time  and  went  to  decay 
rapidly  at  the  opening  of  the  railroad  in  1845. 

THE   CAMPAIGN    OP    1840— "  TIPPECANOE    AND   TYLER    TOO." 

In  the  year  1840  occurred  the  great  Presidential  campaign 
of  "  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too,"  the  log  cabin  and  plenty 
of  hard  cider.  There  was  great  excitement  .in  this  region 
and  all  over  the  country.  It  seemed  to  be  a  campaign  of 
hurrah  quite  as  much  as  of  argument. 

There  was  a  monster  Whig  meeting  in  Northampton  on 
the  25th  of  March.  People  came  in  from  all  the  surround- 
ing towns  in  vast  numbers,  blocking  the  roads  in  all  direc- 
tions. All  had  to  come  with  their  own  teams,  as  there  was 
no  other  means  of  conveyance.  A  log  cabin  was  erected 
in  front  of  the  old  church,  and  another  log  cabin  was  made 
at  Leeds,  then  called  Shepard's  Hollow,  or  "Factory  Vil- 
lage," and  drawn  in  on  wheels  by  eight  horses.  This  cabin 
was  made  under  the  direction  of  Capt.  Sereno  Kingsley, 
afterward  of  Haydenville,  who  then  worked  for  Thomas 
Musgrave,  the  head  of  the  woolen  factory  at  Leeds.  It  was 
received  with  a  great  demonstration  in  ihe  center,  and 
finally  was  left  on  exhibition  in  front  of  the  church.    There 


9 

were  forty-five  men  on  and  in  the  cabin  when  it  was  drawn 
into  town,  and  the  combined  weight  of  the  cabin  and  men 
was  estimated  at  five  tons. 

This  Whig  meeting  was  hehi  in  tlie  "old  church,"  and 
the  number  present  was  said  to  be  2,500.  filling  the  meeting- 
house to  overflowing.  There  were  large  delegations  from 
every  town  in  the  county,  from  Ware  to  Worthington,  and 
also  many  from  outside  the  county,  A  large  delegation 
came  from  Westfield,  marching  into  the  church  while  the 
meeting  was  in  progress,  and  being  received  with  cheers. 
This  was  one  of  the  largest  Whig  meetings  held  in  the  state 
that  year  outside  of  Boston.  Hon.  Lewis  Strong  presided 
and  speeches  were  made  by  Myron  Lawrence  of  Belcher- 
town,  Isaac  C.  Bates  and  Chas.  P.  Huntington  of  North- 
ampton, George  Ashmun  of  Springfield  and  Gen.  James 
Wilson  of  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Bates's  speeqh  is  de- 
scribed as  '"very  eloquent  and  highly  finished."  Gen. 
Wilson  spoke  for  two  hours  and  a  quarter,  and  captivated 
his  hearers.  A  Whig  glee  club,  of  which  Augustus 
Clarke  was  an  active  and  prominent  member,  sang  songs, 
and  the  meeting  was  in  session  from  five  to  six  hours, 
with  an  abundance  of  enthusiasm,  adjourning  at  five 
o'clock  to  partake  of  a  cold  lunch  in  the  town  hall,  consist- 
ing of  roast  beef,  boiled  ham,  bread  and  cheese,  and  "nut 
cakes." 

"Hard  cider"  was  a  prominent  cry  in  this  campaign 
among  the  Whigs,  but  in  deference  to  the  prevailing  tem- 
perance revival  in  this  region  at  that  time  not  much  was 
said  about  it  in  print.  Waldo  H.  Whitcomb  says  that  his 
father,  David  B.  Whitcomb,  told  him  repeatedly  that  hard 
cider  was  freely  used  during  the  day  of  this  Whig  meeting, 
a  barrel  of  it  being  on  tap  in  the  log  cabin,  and  that  Lewis 
Strong,  who  presided  at  the  meeting,  called  for  "another 
pitcher  of  that  hard  cider  "  to  be  passed  up  to  him  to  re- 
fresh the  speakers. 

The  people  of  the  present  times  have  but  a  faint  idea  of 
the  tremendous  excitement  that  prevailed  in  that  campaign. 
There  was  a  craze  which  filled  the  air  and  carried  all  before 


10 

it.  The  country  was  swept  by  the  Whigs.  The  states  did 
not  then  vote  for  President  on  the  same  day,  but  scattered 
along  from  time  to  time.  As  state  after  state  came  in  for 
Harrison  their  names  were  painted  on  long,  narrow  strips 
of  canvas,  which  were  hung  from  a  flagstaff  that  stood  in 
front  of  the  old  town  hall  below  the  court  house. 

Other  Whig  meetings  were  held  in  this  region,  including 
one  at  Westfield  and  another  at  Springfield.  The  one  at 
Westfield  was  attended  by  a  four-horse  omnibus  load  of 
Whigs  from  Northampton.  I  was  present  at  Warner's 
tavern  when  this  load  of  enthusiastic  Whigs  returned,  and 
heard  them  give  three  cheers  for  "  Old  Tip."  My  recollec- 
tion is  that  Moses  Breck  was  with  this  party  and  was  the 
one  who  called  for  and  led  in  this  round  of  cheers.  In  1844 
he  was  as  strong  an  abolitionist  as  he  was  then  a  Whig. 

There  was  a  song  which  the  Whigs  used  in  this  campaign 
with  great  effect.     It  began  with  : — 

What  has  caused  this  great  commotion,  motion,  motion,        ' 

Our  country  through  ? 

It  is  the  ball  a-rolling  on, 
For  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too — Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too. 
And  with  them  we'll  beat  little  Van,  Van, 

Van;  Van  is  a  used  up  man; 
And  with  them  we'll  beat  little  Van. 

And  he  was  beaten,  badly.  The  electoral  votes  stood — 
Harrison  234,  Van  Buren  60. 

Although  it  was  known  soon  after  the  last  elections  were 
held  that  Gen.  Harrison  was  elected,  the  precise  result  was 
not  ascertained  in  Northampton  until  about  a  month  later. 
News  traveled  slowly  in  those  days  of  stage-coaches  and 
twenty-five  cent  postage. 

SUNDAY    POLITICAL   RALLIES. 

It  was  the  practice  of  the  Whigs  to  hold  a  political  rally 
on  the  Sunday  night  next  preceding  the  election.  The  cus- 
tom in  those  days  was  to  observe  Saturday  night  as  a  part 
of  Sunday,  and  Sunday  was  considered  to  close  with  the 
setting  of  the  sun.     There  was  a  Whig  rally  in  the  town 


11 

liall  on  the  last  Sunday  night  before  the  election  of  1840. 
This  practice  of  Sunday  night  political  meetings  was  used 
as  a  weapon  by  the  Democrats,  who  denounced  it  severely, 
not  because  they  were  more  pious  than  the  Whigs,  but 
because  it  was  an  effective  illustration  of  a  lack  of  proper 
respect  for  the  Sabbath  day,  and  it  was  discontinued  a  few 
years  later. 

FEW    HOUSES  ON    UPPER   ELM    STREET. 

There  was  at  this  time  only  one  house  on  the  southerly 
side  of  Elm  street,  between  the  junction  of  Prospect  street 
and  the  residence  of  Sylvester  Judd,  just  west  of  Paradise 
road.  That  one  was  a  small  one-story  dwelling,  occupied 
by  Capt.  Jonathan  P.  Strong,  brick  mason,  a  large,  stout 
man.  The  brick  house  built  by  Benjamin  S.  Lyman  now 
stands  on  the  site  of  Captain  Strong's  house.  Captain 
Strong  was  elected  one  of  the  town's  four  representatives 
in  the  legislature  in  1832,  and  he  had  a  swallow-tailed  broad- 
cloth coat  made  for  him  in  the  best  style  of  those  days, 
which  he  wore  while  attending  the  sessions  of  the  general 
court.  This  coat  was  carefully  preserved  by  Captain  Strong, 
and  nearly  sixty  years  later,  long  after  he  was  dead 
and  had  gone  to  his  reward,  it  was  worn  at  a  "  deestrict 
school  '^  exhibition  in  the  Edwards  church  parlors.  It  is 
still  in  existence  and  in  the  possession  ef  ex-Mayor  John  L. 
Mather  of  Elm  street.  From  the  Judd  house  west,  there  were 
four  houses,  the  last  being  the  Allen  Clark  place.  That 
stood  where  J.  C.  Hammond's  house  now  stands.  The  other 
houses  were  the  residences  of  Armanda  Wood,  Mrs.  Eunice 
Hunt,  ("  Aunt  Eunice,"  as  she  was  generally  called)  occu- 
pied in  part  by  William  M.  Witherell,  and  Elihu  Clark, 
father  of  our  present  city  treasurer.  Beyond  the  Allen 
Clark  place  there  was  only  one  house  until  Vernon  street 
was  reached.  This  was  a  little  one-story  affair  that  stood 
lengthwise  to  the  street,  and  was  the  residence  of  John 
Eden,  an  aged  Englishman,  who  will  be  further  spoken  of 
later  in  these  sketches.  On  the  north  side  of  Elm  street 
there  was  no  house  west  of  Franklin  street. 


13 


THE    FRONTISPIECE. 

OLD   CHURCH,   COURT  HOUSE,   WHITNEY   BUILDING, 
PARK   AND   LIBERTY   POLE. 

The  picture  of  the  Old  Church,  Court  House,  Whitney 
building,  park  and  liberty  pole,  which  appears  as  the  front- 
is]nece  of  this  book,  was  taken  in  1864,  and  is  the  best  pic- 
ture of  the  view  given  in  existence.  It  was  taken  at  the 
instigation  of  the  late  George  T>.  Eames,  who  then  owned 
the  Whitney  building  and  carried  on  the  tinning  and 
plumbing  business  there  many  j^ears.  The  picture  as  taken 
for  Mr.  Eames  is  sixteen  and  one-half  inches  long  and 
twelve  inches  wide,  and  is  remarkably  clear.  It  was  taken 
in  the  late  fall  or  early  spring,  as  is  shown  by  the  blanket 
on  the  horse  standing  in  front  of  Eames  &  White's  store 
and  the  bare  trees.  You  see  the  outlines  of  the  buildings 
and  park  very  distinctly ;  the  stone  steps  and  iron  railings 
of  the  church  and  court  house  ;  the  small  panes  of  glass 
in  the  windows ;  the  stone  posts  in  front  of  and  around  the 
court  house,  with  the  iron  chain  between  the  posts ;  the 
four  chimneys  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  court  house — one 
for  each  of  the  fire-places  in  the  four  offices  on  that  side  ; 
the  two  weather  vanes  ;  the  signs  ;  the  bare  trees  ;  the  little 
park  in  the  center  of  Main  street ;  the  liberty  pole  and  its 
braces  ;  the  railing  around  the  park ;  the  stone  cross-walk 
from  the  court  house  to  Shop  Row  ;  the  roof  of  the  North- 
ampton National  Bank  sloping  to  the  street ;  the  northerly 
entrance  to  the  park  ;  and  the  time  of  day  by  the  town 
clock.  The  large  poster  hanging  in  one  of  the  front  win- 
dows of  the  court  house  was  an  advertisement  of  a  United 
States  recruiting  officer.  It  reads: — ''Headquarters  of 
Superintendent  of  Recruiting  for  Hampshire  County."  The 
office  of  the  Hampshire  Gazette  was  in  the  second  and 
third  stories  of  the  Whitney  building.  The  business  office 
was  in,  the  front  of  the  second  story,  and  you  see  the  inside 
blinds,  and  the  sign,  ''County  Treasurer's  Office,"  over  the 
entrance  to  the  stairway  in  the  southwesterly  corner  of  the 
building.      When  the  Gazette  office  was  removed  to  this 


13 

building  in  1859,  the  third  story  was  raised  several  feet  and 
the  newspaper  and  job  oJBices  occupied  the  entire  third 
floor,  one-half  of  the  basement,  and  the  front  of  the  second 
story.  The  power  used  for  running  the  large  newspaper 
press  in  the  basement  was  a  hot-air  engine,  and  this  ex- 
plains the  large  sign  on  the  building,  "Caloric  Printing 
Establishment." 

A  good  idea  of  the  height  of  the  ground  where  the 
church  and  Whitney  building  stood  can  be  obtained  from 
this  picture.  There  was  quite  a  steep  pitch  from  the  front 
of  the  Whitney  building  to  the  walk,  and  the  street  has 
been  cut  down  several  feet  since.  When  the  savings  bank 
^building  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  Whitney  building  in 
1876,  the  site  was  lowered  to  correspond  with  the  street, 
and  the  site  of  the  church  was  also  lowered  at  the  same 
time. 

The  liberty  pole,  shown  so  distinctly  in  the  picture,  was 
erected  in  1864,  and  the  sticks  were  donated  by  the  brothers 
Jonathan  and  Calvin  Strong  of  South  street.  Edwin  Ban- 
ister and  Harry  Loomis  superintended  its  erection,  and 
were  assisted  by  William  C.  Pomeroy.  Judge  Horace  I. 
Hodges  collected  the  money  to  defray  the  expense  of  the 
work.  It  was  completed  just  in  time  for  hoisting  the  flag 
for  celebrating  the  4th  of  July. 

The  elm  tree  seen  in  front  of  the  old  court  house  is  the 
one  that  is  there  now,  in  front  of  the  new  edifice,  which 
stands  a  few  feet  farther  toward  King  street  than  the  old 
building. 

For  this  picture  I  am  indebted  to  Mrs.  George  D.  Eames, 
who  is  living  in  Providence,  R.  I.  She  saw  the  notice  in 
the  Gazette,  calling  for  old  views  of  the  center  of  North- 
ampton, and  generously  donated  this  picture.  Only  two 
other  copies  of  it  are  known  to  be  in  existence,  one  owned 
by  Charles  H.  Dickinson  and  the  other  by  Sidney  E. 
Bridgman. 


THE   ROUND   HILL   PICTURE. 

The  accompanying  picture  of  Round  Hill  gives  a  view  as 
it  appeared  in  1829.  It  is  from  a  sketch  made  by  Miss 
Good  ridge  of  Boston,  a  teacher  of  drawing.  The  original 
sketch  was  owned  by  Henry  Bright,  and  after  his  decease 
it  was  purchased  by  Waldo  H.  and  David  B.  Whitcomb, 
our  most  noted  antiquarians.  On  the  summit  is  seen,  on 
the  left,  the  house  of  Thomas  Shepherd,  which  was  the 
first  house  built  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  Next  is  the  house 
of  his  brother,  Levi  Shepherd,  built  soon  afterwards,  and 
the  fourth  house  was  built  by  Col.  James  Shepherd.  These 
three  houses  stood  alone  on  the  hill  until  about  1824,  when 
the  property  was  sold  to  Cogswell  &  Bancroft  for  the 
Round  Hill  School,  and  they  erected  the  building  between 
the  houses  of  Levi  and  Col.  James  Shepherd,  also  the 
most  northerly  building,  and  made  the  connections,  giving 
the  buildings  their  appearance  as  shown  in  this  picture. 
Below,  on  Prospect  street,  is  the  old  Stoddard  house,  owned 
in  1828  by  Seth  Wright,  in  1840  by  Charles  C.  Nichols, 
afterward  by  Dr.  Benjamin  Barrett,  and  now  by  Henry  R. 
Hinckley.  On  the  extreme  left  is  the  "  Talbot  house,"  built 
by  Judge  Samuel  Howe,  and  now  forming  a  part  of  Miss 
Capen's  school  for  young  la,dies.  On  the  extreme  right  is 
the  "  Bowers  house,"  built  by  Henry  G.  Bowers,  after- 
ward owned  and  occupied  by  Henry  Bright,  and  now  by 
Dr;  Blodgett  of  Smith  College.  Tlie  old  gambrel-roof 
house  on  the  southerly  corner  of  Prospect  and  Park  streets, 
was  owned  by  Sylvanus  Phelps,  and  on  its  site  now  stands 
the  fine  brick  residence  of  the  late  James  R.  Trumbull. 
The  house  below,  a  little  to  the  right,  was  the  old  house  of 
David  B,  Whitcomb.  A  meat-cart  is  seen  in  the  road, 
going  up  the  hill,  toward  Prospect  street. 


1  5 


CHAPTER  II. 

COMES  TO  TOWN  TO  BE  A  PRINTER  —  THE  EARLY  NEWSPAPERS, 
HAMPSHIRE  HERALD,  HAMPSHIRE  GAZETTE,  NORTHAMPTON  COUR- 
IER, NORTHAMPTON  DEMOCRAT— EDITORS  THAYER,  HAWLEY,  SMITH, 
TYLER,   TABOR,    AND   APOLLUS  MUNN. 

Here  shall  the  Press  the  People's  rights  maiatalu, 
Unaw'd  by  influence  and  unbrib'd  by  gain; 
Here  patriot  Truth  her  glorious  precepts  draw, 
Pledg'd  to  Religion,  Liberty  and  Law. 

—Joseph  Story — Motto  of  Salem  Register. 

On  March  5th,  1845,  the  day  after  the  inauguration  of 
James  K.  Polk  as  President,  I  came  to  Northampton  to 
learn  the  printer's  trade.  I  had  been  living  at  Haydenville, 
with  my  uncle  and  guardian,  Samuel  S.  Wells,  doing  chores, 
and  working  in  the  button  factory  and  in  J.  &.  J,  Hayden's 
store.  One  day  about  March  1  Mr.  Wells  was  in  North- 
ampton, and  saw  Dea.  J.  P.  Williston,  who,  with  Joel 
Hayden  of  Haydenville,  had  just  started  the  Hampshire 
Herald,  an  abolition  paper,  to  advocate  anti-slavery  prin- 
ciples. They  wanted  a  boy  in  the  printing  office,  and  I  was 
sent  in,  on  horseback,  "to  see  and  be  seen  "  and  to  "talk 
it  over"  with  Mr.  Williston.  I  met  Mr.  Williston  in  his 
office,  also  Mr.  Abijah  W.  Thayer,  the  editor,  in  the  edito- 
rial room,  and  after  conferences  with  them  agreed  to  come 
in  and  begin  service. 

At  the  time  appointed  I  arrived,  with  a  two  dollar  bill  in 
my  pocket  and  a  scant  supply  of  shirts  and  stockings,  and 
was  set  at  work  to  "learn  the  case."  The  office  was  in  the 
third  story  of  Masonic  block,  since  known  as  the  Wright 
block,  and  now  owned  by  Judge  Steiling.     The  part  occu- 

1  c 


17 

pied  by  the  Herald  office  now  forms  the  northerly  part  of 
Grand  Army  hall.  Mr.  Williston  had  his  office  in  the  front 
of  the  second  story.  At  noon  I  was  sent  to  board  with 
William  D.  Clapp,  on  South  street,  in  the  house  recently 
torn  down,  west  of  Col.  Williams's  home  lot.  My  "  bringing 
up"  had  never  included  entering  a  house  through  the  front 
door — the  back  door  was  the  place  for  boys  in  Williams- 
burg. So,  when  I  arrived  at  Mr.  Clapp's,  I  went  around 
to  the  shed  and  rapped  at  the  rear  entrance.  Mr,  Clapp  had 
seen  me  go  around  and  was  already  there,  and  he  gave  me 
a  very  cordial  greeting.  I  shall  never  forget  it.  It  came  at 
a  time  when  it  was  most  needed  and  could  be  appreciated. 
He  was  a  hearty,  whole-souled  man,  intelligent  and  com- 
panionable, and  I  found  in  him  a  good  friend  and  a  ready 
helper.  For  four  years  and  a  half,  until  I  was  married 
and  began  housekeeping,  I  boarded  in  the  family  of  this 
good  man. 

Mr.  Clapp  was  a  very  devout  man  and  had  daily  devo- 
tional exercises  in  his  home.  He  was  fluent  and  gifted  in 
speech  and  prayer  and  was  a  leader  in  church  affairs  and 
often  officiated  in  evening  meetings  and  sometimes  at  fun- 
erals. His  wife  was  a  Miss  Chapin,  who  had  been  an  inmate 
of  the  family  of  Deacon  Williston's  wife's  father,  Asahel 
Lyman,  at  Smith's  Ferry,  Her  mother,  Mrs.  Chapin,  lived 
with  her  during  the  whole  time  that  I  boarded  there.  It 
was  their  uniform  custom  to  discuss  the  Sunday  sermon  on 
returning  from  church,  and  this  they  would  do  before  the 
ladies  removed  their  bonnets,  and  do  it  with  an  eagerness 
which  told  of  their  deep  interest  in  the  preacher's  words. 

As  to  wages,  I  was  to  have  $30  the  first  year,  $35  the 
second  year,  and  $40  the  third  year,  and  board.  The  price 
of  board  at  Mr.  Clapp's  was  $1.50  a  week,  including  wash- 
ing. After  a  year  or  two  the  price  was  raised  to  $1.75  a 
week,  and  when  I  was  married  in  1849  I  paid  him  $2  a 
week,  or  $4  a  week  for  myself  and  wife.  That  was  about 
the  ruling  rate  for  board  in  the  town. 

After  I  had  been  in  the  office  about  a  year,  Foreman 
Bonney  fell  sick  on  the  day  of   issuing  the   ])aper,      Mr, 


18 

Williston  was  in  trouble  to  know  what  to  do  in  sucln  a 
situation — press  day  and  no  pressman.  It  occurred  to  me 
that  I  was  equal  to  the- emergency  ;  so  I  took  hold  of  the 
press  and  pulled  off  the  entire  edition,  much  to  the  sur- 
prise and  gratification  of  Mr.  Williston,  who  presented  me 
with  a  one-dollar  bill  on  the  Northampton  bank.  That 
was  the  biggest  dollar  I  have  ever  seen. 

One  Sunday  evening,  a  few  weeks  after  I  came  to  town, 
Mr.  Clapp  invited  me,  by  way  of  entertainment,  to  visit  the 
Washingtonians.  There  had  been  a  great  temperance  revi- 
val among  the  rum-drinkers  and  they  had  formed  an  asso- 
ciation. Mr.  Williston  had  given  them  his  encouragement 
and  aid,  and  furnished  them  with  a  room  in  his  building 
in  which  to  meet.  The  revival  at  the  time  of  my  arrival 
in  town  was  on  the  wane  and  there  were  only  three  or  four 
of  the  veterans  present.  Among  them  were  Col.  Josiah 
Dickinson,  familiarly  known  as  "  Colonel  Shall,"  maker  of 
the  wooden  pumps  then  in  common  use,  George  Bennett, 
the  tinner,  and  William  M.  Witherell.  They  sat  around 
the  large  wood  box-stove  and  talked. 

There  were  then  three  other  weekly  papers  published  in 
the  town,  whose  population  was  about  4,500— the  Hamp- 
shire Gazette,  by  William  A.  Hawley  ;  the  Northampton 
Courier,  by  Josiah  W.  Smith  ;  and  the  Northampton 
Democrat,  by  Stephen  J.  W.  Tabor.  Mr.  Tabor  came 
from  Shelburne  Falls  and  was  not  here  long.  The  aboli- 
tionists had  received  no  favors  from  any  of  these  papers. 
The  Gazette  and  the  Courier  were  both  strongly  Whig, 
which  was  the  ruling  party  in  town  and  county,  and  the 
Democrat  was  strongly  Democratic.  The  abolitionists  were 
a  despised  set  and  were  regarded  as  meddlers  with  the  af- 
fairs of  other  parties,  with  no  prospect  of  accomplishing 
any  good.  They  were  few  in  number.  In  the  election  of 
1840  they  had  cast  thirty-three  votes  in  Northampton  for 
James  G.  Birney  for  President,  and  100  in  1844.  In  the 
entire  county  their  vote  in  1844  was  591.  In  1840,  it  was  in 
the  county  about  200,  and  was  reported  in  the  Gazette 
under  the  head  of  "  scattering.'' 


19 

The  Herald  met  with  a  cold  reception  from  the  Whigs, 
who  formed  a  large  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  town  and 
county.  They  owed  the  abolitionists  no  good  will,  as  their 
pet  candidate  for  President,  Henry  Clay,  had  been  defeated 
in  the  election  of  1844  by  the  abolition  votes.  A  consider- 
able number  of  copies  of  the  first  issue  of  the  Herald  were 
distributed  about  town  gratuitously.  Moses  Breck  was 
then  a  zealous  abolitionist,  and  he  took  the  papers  and  dis- 
tributed them  himself.  One  man,  a  zealous  Whig,  who  had 
a  shop  on  Main  street,  near  the  Warner  House,  manifested 
his  disapprobation  of  the  paper  and  its  principles  b}^  picking 
up  the  copy  which  Mr.  Breck  had  thrown  into  his  doorway 
with  a  pair  of  tongs  and  depositing  it  outside  in  the  street. 
This  undoubtedly  illustrated  the  feelings  of  many  others 
of  that  political  faith  at  that  time. 

Another  instance  showing  the  bitterness  of  feeling  that 
prevailed  against  the  abolitionists  occurred  in  the  Herald 
office.  An  active  Whig  worker  had  been  sent  by  a  sub- 
scriber to  pay  up  and  stop  his  paper.  Editpr  Thayer  was 
unable  to  give  him  enough  change,  when  the  Whig  poli- 
tician said  :  "  Never  mind  a,bout  the  change  ;  it's  worth 
that  to  do  the  business." 

It  is  fair  to  say  that  in  the  evolution  of  political  parties 
that  followed,  both  of  these  intense  anti-abolitionists  be- 
came staunch  anti-slavery  men  and  did  great  work  for 
the  Republican  cause  and  the  cause  of  the  Union  in  the 
Civil  war. 

With  such  bitter  feeling  existing  it  was  little  wonder 
that  the  Herald  made  small  headway.  Many  of  the  mer- 
chants and  other  business  men,  most  of  whom  were  Whigs, 
refused  to  advertise  in  it,  and  its  circulation  being  small, 
about  1000,  it  did  not  pay  expenses.  Editor  Thayer  was 
not  a  peacemaker  or  a  patronage-getter.  He  was  a  natural 
controversialist,  and  nothing  suited  him  better  than  to  an- 
tagonize some  one  in  print.  He  was  a  dangerous  antagonist. 
He  paid  more  attention  to  political  matters  than  to  news 
and  such  reading  as  was  of  interest  to  all  classes  of  people, 
and  thereby  offended  and  drove  away  many  who,  with  a 


20 

more  attractive  policy,  might  Lave  been  patrons  of  his  pa- 
per. The  Gazette  pursued  the  latter  policy.  While  strongly 
Whig,  and  often  severe  against  the  opponents  of  the  Whig 
party,  it  gave  more  of  the  general  news  of  the  times,  and 
was  therefore  more  acceptable  to  the  general  public.  I  have 
before  me,  as  I  write,  a  copy  of  the  Hampshire  Republican 
of  Nov,  4,  1840,  the  last  issue  before  the  Presidential  elec- 
tion of  that  year.  Apollus  Munn  was  the  editor,  assisted  by 
Mr.  Tabor.  There  is  not  a  single  news  item  in  the  paper. 
All  the  matter  is  political,  and  it  is  red  hot.  There  are 
columns  of  large  pica  type,  attractive  full  face  catch-lines, 
capital  letters,  italics  and  exclamation  points,  in  abundance, 
all  denoting  the  intense  e'xcitement  of  the  times.  Apollus 
Munn  seems  to  have  been  a  famous  character  in  his  day. 
I  never  saw  him,  but  many  a  time  I  have  heard  him  spoken 
of  by  his  surviving  contemporaries  as  a  man  who  kept 
political  affairs  extremely  lively. 

The  Gazette  was  the  only  paper  in  town  that  was  printed 
on  a  power  press — the  others  were  printed  on  hand  presses. 
The  Gazette  office  was  in  the  second  story  of  the  "  Lyman 
block,"  just  east  of  Judge  Lyman's  residence,  or  where 
Boyden's  restaurant  now  stands.  The  Courier  office  was 
in  the  Whitney  building,  between  the  old  church  and  the 
court  house,  where  the  Northampton  Institution  for  Savings 
now  stands.  The  Democrat  was  printed  in  the  second  story 
of  the  wooden  building  now  standing  on  Pleasant  street, 
opposite  R.  E.  Edwards's  furniture  store  in  Cook's  block. 

The  Gazette  had  an  old  Adams  power  press,  which  was 
bought  second-hand  in  Brattleboro  in  1841.  It  was  run 
by  hand-power,  and  Alexander  Edwards  turned  the  crank 
that  moved  the  large  fly  wheel.  It  was  laborious  work  that 
he  did  and  he  earned  all  that  he  received  for  his  labor. 
The  Herald  had  an  improved  Washington  hand  press,  with 
a  self-inking  apparatus,  that  was  operated  by  the  same 
power  that  moved  the  bed  to  and  fro.  This  was  considered 
to  be  a  wonderful  invention,  I  remember  that  Hiram  Ferry, 
a  veteran  prinler,  father  of  our  Sydenham  N.  Ferry,  came 
in  one  day  to  see  it  work,  and  he  expressed  great  surprise 


21 

at  its  successful  operation.  The  old  way  was  for  an  extra 
hand  to  distribute  the  ink  on  the  roller,  work  it  on  a  cyl- 
iiidei".  and  api)l3"  to  the  type  while  the  pressman  removed 
the  sheet  he  had  printed  and  put  another  sheet  on  the 
"tympan."  There  was  work  about  all  this,  the  like  of 
which  the  laboring  man  of  today  knows  little.  The  writer 
worked  at  this  hand  press  twelve  years.  There  was  a  turn- 
ing motion  of  the  pressman  as  he  swung  back  and  forth, 
and  in  the  old  Courier  office,  where  Free  Soil  doctrines  were 
tui-ned  out  weekly,  a  hole  was  worn  through  the  floor  by 
the  grinding  of  the  pressman's  heel. 

The  work  of  typesetting  was  mostly  done  by  apprentice 
boys,  of  whom  there  were  three  or  four  in  each  office.  In 
the  Herald  office,  there  were  three  boys,  Hervey  J.  Smith, 
now  of  Fort  street,  from  Amherst,  being  one.  Oliver  E. 
Bouney,  brother  of  Dr.  Franklin  Bonney  of  Hadley,  was 
foreman.  He  had  recently  completed  an  apprenticeship  in 
the  printing  office  of  J.  S.  &  C.  Adams  in  Amherst.  The 
apprentice  boys  usually  boarded  witli  the  editor,  and  spent 
their  evenings  in  the  office,  visiting  each  other  occasionally. 
The  late  James  R.  Trumbull,  the  city  historian,, was  tlie 
leading  apprentice  in  the  Gazette  office  at  that  time. 

Mr.  Hawley  was  an  industrious  worker  and  managed  the 
Gazette  with  prudence,  safety  and  profit.  The  Whigs  gave 
him  their  undivided  support,  and  he  gave  the  Whig  party 
a  support  brave  and  loyal.  He  was  sent  to  the  legislature 
three  years,  once  as  a  representative  and  twice  as  a  senator. 
After  he  retired  from  the  paper  in  1853,  on  account  of 
impaired  health,  he  was  appointed  high  sheriff  by  Gov. 
Clifford,  and  was  succeeded  in  1855  by  Henry  A.  Longley, 
who  received  his  commission  from  Gov.  Gardner.  Mr. 
Smith  of  the  Courier  was  not  a  very  aggressive  man,  and 
as  editor  failed  to  make  much  impression  upon  the  commu- 
nity, though  a  man  of  kindly  disposition  and  gentlemanly 
manners.  The  Democratic  editors  were  chiefly  distinguished 
for  the  noise  and  dust  they  raised  on  the  flanks  and  rear  of 
the  advancing  army  of  Whigs. 

In  1847,  Editor  Thayer  had  a  call  to  go  to  Worcester,  to 


22 

take  the  editorial  charge  of  a  newspaper  there.  It  was  a 
question  with  Mr.  Williston  what  to  do  with  the  Herald. 
It  was  not  paying  expenses,  and  he  seriously  contemplated 
stopping  its  publication.  One  day  he  proposed  to  me  that 
I  should  take  the  paper  and  see  what  I  could  do  with  it. 
I  had  published  several  numbers  of  a  small  paper  called  the 
"  Holyoke  Mountaineer,"  doing  this  work  evenings,  with 
the  help  of  some  other  boys.  It  was  a  responsible  under- 
taking. I  was  only  nineteen  years  of  age,  without  business 
experience  or  training,  but  with  an  abundance  of  energy 
and  zeal,  and  exceptionally  good  health.  I  hesitated  about 
taking  the  paper  alone,  but  fellow-apprentice  Smith  agreed 
to  join  in  the  undertaking,  and  for  a  year  we  published  it,  I 
doing  the  editing,  and  both  working  at  the  case  and  press. 

In  1848,  came  a  turn  in  the  political  tide.  The  much 
despised  and  derided  abolitionists  were  growing  in  number 
and  strength.  The  revolt  of  the  followers  of  Van  Buren 
in  New  York,  resulting  in  the  organization  of  the  "  Barn- 
burners," and  the  revolt  of  anti-slavery  Whigs  and  Demo- 
crats in  New  Hampshire,  resulting  in  the  election  of  John 
P.  Hale  to  the  United  States  senate,  and  the  revolt  of  the 
"  Conscience  Whigs  "  in  Massachusetts,  contributed  largely 
to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  Free  Soil  party,  the  legitimate  suc- 
cessor of  the  Liberty  party.  The  Whigs  nominated  Gen. 
Zachary  Taylor,  a  Louisiana  slaveholder,  for  President, 
and  the  anti-slavery  elements  united  on  Martin  Van  Buren 
as  their  candidate.  The  Courier,  which  had  been  leaning 
toward  the  anti-slavery  side,  joined  the  Free  Soil  ranks, 
making  with  the  Herald  two  papers  here  advocating  the 
anti-slavery  principles,  where  only  one  was  needed.  It  was 
therefore  deemed  best  by  the- leading  supporters  of  the 
Herald  that  the  two  papers  should  be  united,  and  this  was 
done  in  August,  1848.  I  then  went  into  the  Courier  office 
as  foreman  and  assistant  editor,  at  $8  a  week,  and  remained 
in  that  position  until  April  1,  1849,  when  the  Courier  estab- 
lishment came  into  my  possession  by  purchase,  the  price 
being  $1200. 

The  Courier  had  been  owned  and  edited  by  Rev.  William 


23 

Tyler,  a  retired  Congregational  minister,  a  good  man, 
but  in  no  way  fitted  to  run  a  newspaper.  He  lacked  tact 
and  ability  to  adapt  himself  to  the  practical  side  of  affairs. 

I  published  tlie  Courier  until  Nov.  1,  1858,  when  the 
Courier  and  the  Gazette,  the  only  papers  in  the  town  at 
that  time,  were  united  and  the  combined  paper  was  en- 
larged. The  Republican  party,  recently  formed,  was  very 
strong  in  Hampshire  county,  and  one  paper  of  that  politi- 
cal faith  was  all  that  was  thought  to  be  necessary.  This 
union  of  papers  was  quite  acceptable  to  the  public,  and 
proved  to  be  profitable  to  its  publishers. 

The  newspapers  of  the  period  previous  to  1850  paid  little 
attention  to  local  matters  compared  with  what  they  are 
doing  now.  Only  matters  of  importance  were  noticed. 
There  were  no  local  correspondents,  as  now.  When  any- 
thing occurred  in  any  of  the  towns  that  was  considered 
worth  noticing  it  was  expected  that  some  one  interested  in 
it  would  send  in  a  brief  mention  of  it,  or  call  at  the  news- 
paper office  and  tell  the  editor.  Clergymen  were  expected 
to  send  in  notices  of  marriages,  and  town  clerks  to  report 
the  election  returns  when  requested.  So  not  much  came  in. 
What  little  was  gathered  by  the  editor  from  persons  who 
came  to  his  ofiice  or  whom  he  met  about  town  was  scattered 
around  in  the  paper  among  the  news  items  from  abroad. 
There  was  no  general  gathering  of  the  local  news  until  after 
1850,  when  the  practice  was  first  begun  in  the  Northampton 
Courier.  Once  begun  it  spread,  and  by  1857  the  Courier 
published  ten  columns  of  local  matter  a  week.  To  show 
how  little  attention  was  paid  to  local  matters  in  the  earlier 
years  it  is  necessary  to  mention  only  a  siugle  fact.  When 
the  old  church  was  dedicated  in  1812,  an  edifice  that  was  a 
fine  piece  of  architecture  and  the  pride  of  the  town,  and 
there  were  nearly  thirteen  hundred  people  within  its  walls, 
not  a  line  of  report  of  the  exercises  appeared  in  the  Gazette, 
or  in  any  other  paper.  The  only  mention  of  the  great  event 
was  a  four  line  item  in  the  last  issue  before  the  dedication, 
stating  that  on  the  Wednesday  following  "the  meeting- 
house would  be  dedicated.'"'     The  editor  probably  thought 


that,  as  nearly  all  of  his  subscribers  were  present  at  the 
dedication,  no  mention  of  it  in  his  paper  was  necessary. 
Such  an  event  now  would  call  for  a  picture  of  the  edifice, 
a  description  of  its  interior,  a  detailed  statement  of  its  con- 
struction, a  history  of  the  church  and  parish,  a  portrait  and 
sketch  of  the  pastor,  with  various  matter  relating  to  the 
ancient  organization,  filling  six  to  eight  columns. 

When  the  Courier  was  making  its  great  effort  to  gather 
the  local  news  in  1857  and  1858,  it  was  greatly  aided  in  that 
work  by  L.  N.  Clark,  son  of  Dr.  Horace  Clark,  who  lived 
in  the  Pine  Grove  district,  and  now  the  veteran  editor  of 
the  Westfield  Times.  He  was  then  just  entering  upon  his 
early  manhood  and  was  full  of  zeal  and  enthusiasm.  His 
special  field  was  West  Farms  and  Florence,  and  these  he 
faithfully  worked.  This  was  the  beginning  of  his  long 
and  successful  career  in  newspaper  life. 

After  being  in  the  printing  office  a  few  months,  Benjamin 
North  of  Leeds,  a  well  known  trader  and  pedler  in  his  times, 
called  at  the  Herald  office.  He  shook  hands  with  me  in  a 
very  cordial  manner,  saying  in  his  frank  and  hearty  way  : 
"Ah  !  I  like  to  shake  hands  with  an  honest  man  I  "  That 
pleased  me  immensely,  and  I  felt  highly  flattered  by  it, 
but  it  puzzled  me  to  see  how  he  came  to  know  that  I  was 
honest,  as  I  never  had  had  any  business  dealings  with  him. 
I  knew  that  I  was  honest  myself,  but  how  could  he  know 
it?  I  learned  afterwards  that  the  remark  meant  nothing, 
as  he  said  it  to  everyone  with  whom  he  shook  hands.  It 
was  his  way  of  introducing  himself  as  a  trader.  Another 
favorite  expression  of  his,  by  way  of  ejaculation,  was  "Bite- 
megs  !  "  He  was  a  short,  stout  man,  jolly  and  hearty.  He 
lived  in  a  house  that  stood  where  Lucius  Dimock's  house 
now  stands,  and  ran  the  store  which  Mr.  Ross  now  owns. 

The  newspapers  of  this  period  were  mainly  distributed 
in  this  region  by  postriders.  There  were  routes  running 
to  Easthampton  and  Southampton  ;  to  Westhampton,  Nor- 
wich, Chester  and  Middlefield  ;  to  Chesterfield  and  Worth- 
ington  ;  to  Williamsburg,  Goshen,  Cummington  and  Plain- 
field  ;    to  Whately,  Conway,   Ashfield  and  Buckland  :   to 


25 

Hat  Held  ;  to  Hadley,  Amherst  and  Belchertown  ;  to  Hock- 
anum,  South  Hadley  >and  Granby.  The  number  of  papers 
sent  in  the  mails  was  small.  Several  of  the  postriders  came 
in  the  day  before  publication,  bringins^  butter,  eggs,  and 
other  farm  produce.  The  papers  were  issued  at  noon  on 
Tuesday,  and  the  postmen  started  out  as  soon  as  they  ob- 
tained their  supply. 

At  this  time — about  1845 — Oliver  Warner,  the  elder,  a 
spare  man,  yet  hale  and  vigorous,  was  keeper  of  the 
Warner  Tavern  ;  Capt.  Jonathan  Brewster,  large,  tall, 
well-proportioned,  and  resolute,  kept  the  Mansion  House; 
Solomon  Stoddard,  father  of  William  H.,  spare  and  thin, 
gray-haired,  aged  and  feeble,  lived  in  a  garabrel-roofed 
house  on  Elm  street,  just  north  of  the  Catholic  church  : 
Wm.  W.  Partridge,  many  years  selectman,  auctioneer,  and 
man  of  general  affairs,  was  in  his  prime  ;  Ansel  Wright, 
deputy  sheriff,  constable,  merchant,  and  settler  of  many 
estates,  was  in  the  height  of  his  physical  vigor  and  business 
activit}^  :  Harvey  Kirkland  was  just  beginning  his  long 
service  as  register  of  deeds,  manager  of  Hampsliire  fire 
insurance  company,  secretary  of  agricultural  society,  and 
town  clerk,  and  was  perhaps  as  prominent  a  business  man 
as  any  in  town  ;  Josiah  D.  Whitney  was  cashier  of  the 
Northampton  bank,  and  Deacon  Eliphalet  Williams  the 
president ;  Capt.  Samuel  Parsons,  leading  farmer,  ruler  of 
men  and  swayer  of  town  meetings,  was  in  his  best  years  ; 
Benjamin  North,  hearty  and  cordial,  pedler  and  traveling 
trader,  was  keeping  a  country  store  at  "Shepherd's  Hol- 
low;" John  Hannum,  the  only  and  original  John,  watch  and 
clock  repairer,  was  in  his  prime  ;  Stoddard  &  Lathrop  were 
the  principal  dry  goods  merchants;  the  maiden  sisters, 
Sophia  and  Cecelia  Osborn  (S.  &  C.  Osborn)  were  the  lead- 
ing milliners,  with  another  maiden,  "  Aunt  Sarah  "  Clark, 
doing  business  in  the  same  line ;  George  W.  Benson  was  at 
the  head  of  the  "  Bensonites  "  at  Florence;  David  Lee 
Child,  of  literary  and  x^olitical  eminence,  was  running  a  farm 
west  of  Florence;  Ithamar  Conkey  of  Amherst  was  judge 
of  probate  ;  Dr.  Daniel  Stebbins,  old  and  infirm,  was  about 


26 

closing  his  career  of  tliirty-three  years  as  county  treasurer  : 
Sylvester  Judd,  the  antiquarian  and  historian,  was  hard  at 
work  in  his  researches  of  old  records  and  recording  the 
recollec.tions  of  old  peo]jle  ;  Rev.  George  E.  Day,  now  pro- 
fessor at  Yale  university,  was  pastor  of  the  Edwards  church ; 
Dr.  Wiley  had  just  been  dismissed  from  the  pastorate  of 
the  old  church  and  Rev.  E.  Y.  Swift  was  settled  ;  Dr.  David 
Ruggles,  nearly  blind,  but  endowed  with  a  remarkable 
physical  healing  power,  was  at  the  head  of  the  water-cure 
establishment  in  Florence  ;  Thomas  Shepherd  was  post- 
master ;  and  the  sound  of  the  bugle  was  heard  on  the  stage 
coaches  as  they  came  in  from  every  direction. 

There  was  not  a  hack  nor  a  barouche  kept  for  public  use 
in  the  town.  When  the  railroad  was  opened  in  1845  the 
Warner  House  sent  a  carriage  to  the  depot  to  convey  pas- 
sengers to  its  doors  free  of  charge.  For  this  purpose  one  of 
the  old  stage-coaches  that  had  been  thrown  out  of  business 
by  the  incoming  railroad  was  used.  There  were  but  few 
barouches  kept  in  town  by  private  parties.  Samuel  L. 
Hinckley,  the  high  sheriff,  had  one,  and  in  his  time  Judge 
Joseph  Lyman  had  one. 

When  I  came  to  town,  and  for  many  years  afterward, 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  vacation  for  any  one.  When 
I  wanted  to  be  gone  from  the  printing  office  for  a  day, 
which  was  not  often,  I  gained  the  time  by  doing  extra  work 
in  advance.  I  never  had  a  vacation  of  any  sort  until  I  was 
nearly  thirty  years  old.  Work  began  at  seven  in  the  morn- 
ing and  ended  at  six  in  the  evening.  This  was  the  rule  in 
all  occupations,  except  with  the  farmers,  who  worked  from 
sunrise  to  sunset.  The  vacation  custom  began  in  the  six- 
ties, and  has  been  spreading  ever  since,  until  it  embraces 
nearl}^  every  person. 

There  were  six  religious  societies  here  in  1845 — the  Old 
Church,  the  Edwards,  Unitarian,  Baptist,  Episcopalian, 
and  Methodist,  each  with  a  meeting-house  of  its  own, 
except  the  Methodist,  which  met  in  the  old  town  hall. 
There  was  a  small  choir,  located  in  the  northerly  corner  of 
the  hall,  and  William  Lavake  played  the  large  bass  viol. 


37 

The  societ}'  liad  no  organ,  or  musical  instrument  of  any 
kind,  except  those  of  the'  violin  type.  The  congregation 
was  small.  With  the  growth  of  the  town,  six  more 
religious  societies  have  been  added. 

HON.    LEWIS   strong's   GREAT   INFLUENCE. 

In  the  old  days  the  ruling  class  in  Northampton  con- 
sisted of  a  few  men.  The  leaders  were  looked  to  for  ad- 
vice, and  their  advice  was  accepted.  In  the  later  years  of 
Parson  Williams's  ministry  there  arose  some  dissatisfac- 
tion with  him,  which  assumed  such  proportions  that  a 
town  meeting  was  called  to  consider  the  matter.  When 
the  meeting  was  held,  Hon.  Lewis  Strong,  a  son  of  Gov- 
ernor Caleb  Strong,  was  present  to  address  it.  He  was  a 
plausible  and  forcible  speaker,  and  a  peace-maker.  After 
he  had  spoken,  all  opposition  ceased.  I  had  this  from 
Capt.  Jonathan  P.  Strong,  who  was  present  at  this  meet- 
ing. He  said,  forty  years  after  the  meeting,  that  he  re- 
membered it  as  distinctly  as  if  it  was  held  only  yesterday. 
No  one  dared  to  lisp  a  word  of  opposition  after  Deacon 
Strong  had  poured  his  oil  of  harmony  upon  the  troubled 
waters.  It  was  Mr.  Strong's  practice,  whenever  any  ques- 
tion of  public  importance  arose,  and  there  was  a  division 
of  sentiment  upon  it,  to  write  an  article  for  the  Hampshire 
Gazette,  over  the  signature  of  "Hampshire."  This  gen- 
erally settled  the  matter. 


00 

'X) 


z 


o 


PICTURE   OF   THE   CENTER  OP   MAIN   STREET. 

This  view  of  tlie  center  of  Northampton,  as  it  appeared 
sixty-four  years  ago,  when  the  population  of  the  town  was 
about  3700,  is  from  a  sketch  made  by  John  W.  Barber,  and 
published  in  his  Historical  Collections  in  1841.  In  general 
the  view  is  admirable,  though  lacking  the  accuracy  of  a 
photograph.  The  old  church,  court  house,  Whitney  build- 
ing, old  town  hall,  Warner  tavern.  Granite  Row,  Clarke 
block  at  the  easterly  end  of  Shop  Row,  and  the  Theodore 
Strong  house,  are  all  shown  just  as  they  were.  You  see 
the  stone  wall  that  ran  from  the  west  corner  of  the  town 
hall,  and  the  stairway  leading  down  from  the  balcony  in 
front  of  the  entrance  to  the  hall.  The  little  elm  that 
stands  near  the  end  of  the  stone  wall  is  now  the  stately 
elm  that  stands  in  front  of  the  new  court  house.  The 
three-cornered  guidepost  in  the  fork  of  the  roads  at  the 
entrance  to  King  street  is  shown,  one  of  the  old-time  feat- 
ures of  the  town.  You  see  what  a  beautiful  residence  the 
Theodore  Strong  house  was,  so  stately  and  symmetrical. 
The  beautiful  shade  trees  in  the  distance  were  there.  The 
old  stage  coach,  with  its  baggage  behind,  seems  to  be  just 
coming  in  from  Boston.  There  was  nothing  below  Pleas- 
ant stx'eet,  until  Gov.  Caleb  Strong's  house  was  reached, 
near  the  site  of  the  present  Hampshire  House.  On  the 
whole,  this  is  a  very  valuable  picture,  and  presents  some 
features  that  are  not  given  in  any  other  view. 


89 


CHAPTER  III. 

MAIN  STREET — SOUTHERLY  SIDE,  FROM  WEST  STREET  TO  BRIDGE  STREET, 
AS  IT  WAS  IN  1845,  WITH  BRIEF  MENTION  OF  SOME  OF  THE  OLD 
MERCHANTS. 

How  cruelly  sweet  are  the  echoes  that  start. 
When  memory  plays  an  old  tune  on  the  heart! 

—Eliza  Cook,  IS  17. 

I  shall  try  to  give  a  description  of  tlie  center  of  North- 
ampton as  I  saw  it  in  the  years  1840  to  1845.  But  no  pen 
can  describe  it  and  give  to  the  picture  the  flavor  which 
came  with  the  visible  reality,  A  rural  village  it  was,  beau- 
tifully situated,  on  bluffs  skirting  the  wide-spreading  mead- 
ows, its  streets  lined  with  towering  elms,  with  those  gems 
of  the  valley,  Mounts  Holyoke  and  Tom,  in  the  distance — 
old-fashioned  in  its  buildings,  quaint  in  the  manners  and 
customs  of  its  people,  it  presented  the  appearance  of  a  typ- 
ical old-time  New  England  shire  town  of  the  first  class.  It 
had  fine  "residences  for  those  days,  and  fine  people.  Its 
stores  were  inferior  in  appearance,  both  outside^  and  inside, 
and  of  scant  dimensions.  Some  of  them  were  of  brick,  the 
others  of  wood.  The  street  lines  in  the  center  were  much 
as  they  are  now,  except  that  east  of  the  junction  of  King 
and  Pleasant  streets  with  Main  street,  the  center  street  has 
been  considerably  narrowed  by  the  erection  of  buildings  on 
either  side.  There  were  no  pavements  of  streets,  no  mac- 
adamized roads,  and  few  sidewalks,  except  those  of  gravel. 
Crossing  Main  street,  opposite  the  old  church,  the  court 
house,  and  Charles  Smith's  store  at  the  upper  end  of  Shop 
Row,  there  were  stone  walks,  much  worn  by  years  of  travel. 
Along  Shop  Row  there  was  a  crude,  uneven  brick  walk, 

30 


31 

and  a  stone  walk  from  Jndge  Lyman's  house  to  the  court 
house. 

Originality  there  was  a  considerable  hill  near  the  center 
of  Main  street,  in  front  of  the  present  old  church,  on  which 
was  erected  the  first  meeting-house,  and  on  which  the  suc- 
cessive meeting-houses  stood  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years.  This  hill  sloped  to  the  four  points  of  the  compass, 
east,  west,  north  and  south,  and  was  called  in  the  early 
records,  "  meeting-house  hill."  It  has  been  cut  down  from 
time  to  time  until  as  a  hill  it  has  almost  wholly  disappeared. 
Its  original  height  was  several  feet  higher  than  it  is  now. 
The  land  at  the  foot  of  this  hill  on  King  street  was  several 
feet  lower  than  at  present.  Originally  there  was  a  consid- 
erable ravine  extending  from  King  street  across  Main  street 
to  Pleasant  street  and  thence  to  South  street  in  the  rear  of 
Shop  Row. 

Shop  Row  was  begun  in  1769,  with  the  erection  of  Dr. 
Ebenezer  Hunt's  apothecary  shop,  on  the  present  site  of 
C.  B.  Kingsley's  drug  store.  The  store  of  Merritt  Clark, 
next  west  of  the  drug  store,  was  begun  in  1803.  Jn  1840 
Shop  Row  began  with  the  Merritt  Clark  block,  then  occu- 
pied by  Charles  Smith  &  Co.,  and  ended  with  a  three-story 
brick  store  on  the  site  of  the  present  Clarke  block,  then 
occupied  by  Augustus  Clarke. 

Let  us  begin  at  the  upper  end  of  Main  street  and  come 
along  down  on  the  southerly  side.  The  house  of  Dr.  Hig- 
bee,  next  west  of  the  Baptist  church,  was  occupied  by 
George  Bennett  and  his  wife.  Bennett  was  a  tinner  and 
made  the  little  tin  boxes  for  J.  P.  Williston's  indelible  ink. 
His  wife,  a  small,  spare  woman,  was  partially  demented, 
and  used  to  walk  about  the  sti-eets,  saying  to  almost  every 
one  she  met,  "We  all  have  to  do  just  as  everybody  says,"  a 
rema,rk  that  embodied  more  truth  perhaps  than  she  was 
aware  of.  Mr.  Bennett  was  also  a  small  man,  old  and 
somewhat  broken  physically.  He  had  been  of  intemperate 
habits  and  Mr.  Williston  became  interested  in  him  and 
helped  him  to  reform'  and  earn  a  living  by  giving  him  em- 
ployment. 


The  Baptist  cliurcli  was  there  mainly  as  it  is  now,  except 
that  it  has  been  improved  in  appearance  by  the  erection  of 
a  tower.  Rev.  D.  M.  Crane  was  the  pastor— a  short,  thick- 
set man,  moderate  in  speech,  and  of  a  kindly  disposition. 
He  had  much  to  do  with  the  schools,  and  was  for  many 
years  the  general  agent  of  the  school  board. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  Baptist  church,  the  basement  of 
its  meeting-house  was  used  for  a  carpenter  shop  and  for 
the  headquarters  of  the  Hook  and  Ladder  and  Sack  and 
Bucket  fire  companies.  Deacon  Joseph  Haskins,  one  of 
the  leading  men  of  the  Baptist  church,  had  his  carpenter 
sliop  there,  and  in  1836  Amasa  D.  Wade  sent  in  a  bill  to 
the  town  "  for  repairs  in  basement  of  Baptist  church  for 
use  of  Hook  and  Ladder  Co.,  $4-.G4."  Josiah  Dickinson 
and  William  Preston  are  named  as  workmen  on  the  job, 
four  days,  at  75  cents  a  day. 

The  old  New  Haven  canal  was  then  in  operation,  running 
under  the  street  opposite  the  west  corner  of  the  new  high 
school  house.  The  bridge  was  a  stone  archway.  The 
canal  was  carried  over  Mill  river  and  the  highway  just 
below  the  "  Lower  Mills"  by  a  viaduct,  and  after  the  canal 
was  abandoned  the  earth  embankment  of  this  viaduct  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river  was  carted  off  to  build  the 
Maple  street  dike.  The  canal  never  realized  the  expecta- 
tions of  its  builders,  and  was  a  great  loss  to  them  and  a 
sore  disappointment  to  the  town. 

The  first  building  below  the  canal  was  a  small,  square, 
one-story  shop,  in  which  Charles  P.  Kingsley,  the  grand- 
father of  our  druggist  C.  B.  Kingsley,  kept  a  little  grocery, 
afterwards  moving  to  the  canal  storehouse,  in  the  west 
part,  where  he  did  business  until  he  died  in  1844.  This  lit- 
tle wooden  building  was  erected  on  the  Asahel  Pomeroy 
lot,  since  known  as  "Granite  Row,"  and  was  used  for  an 
ofhce,  Dr.  Benjamin  Barrett  having  his  office  in  it.  It  was 
moved  off  to  make  room  for  a  larger  building.  It  is  still 
in  existence,  and  is  about  the  only  building  in  the  center 
that  remains  just  as  it  was  when  it  was  erected  about  sev- 
enty years  ago.     It  stands  on  Crafts  avenue,  just  east  of 


33 

city  hall,  and  is  occupied  by  C.  W.  Mack  for  a  plumber's 
shop. 

Next  below  the  canal  was  the  girls'  school  house,  on  the 
site  of  the  South  street  boulevard.  This  was  a  brick  build- 
ing, standing  a  considerable  distance  back  from  Main 
street.  It  was  on  land  given  to  the  town  for  school  pur- 
poses by  Dr.  Barrett.  It  was  erected  about  1836,  and  for 
some  years  was  used  only  for  a  girls'  school,  the  school  for 
boys  being  in  the  open  lot  in  the  rear  of  the  old  church. 
Later  it  was  used  for  a  school  for  both  boys  and  girls. 

We  come  now  to  the  homestead  of  Edwin  Kingsley,  on 
land  at  present  occupied  by  the  Academy  of  Music.  This 
was  a  two-story  brick  house,  on  the  site  of  a  wooden  house 
erected  in  1792  b}^  Nathaniel  Day.  The  old  house  was 
moved  to  the  rear  and  used  for  tenements.  Mr.  Kingsley's 
blacksmith  shop,  a  low  brick  building,  stood  east  of  his 
house,  fronting  on  the  street,  and  there  he  and  his  son, 
Lj^man  Kingsley,  worked  early  and  late,  doing  the  principal 
blacksmithing  for  the  town.  Mr.  Kingsley  died  at  an 
advanced  age,  leaving  an  estate  of  nearly  $100,000,  the  ac- 
cumulation of  a  long  life  of  industry  and  economy.  He 
was  a  small,  spare  man,  who  attended  strictly  to  his  own 
business. 

Below  the  Kingsley  property  were  what  are  now  known 
as  the  Jacob  Holley  house  and  barn,  where  Asahel  Wood 
kept  a  livery.  The  barn  was  erected  for  staging  purposes 
in  the  years  of  the  stage  coach.  It  stands  now  much  as 
it  was  when  built,  and  the  house  remains  the  same. 

Below  the  Holley  property,  in  front  of  the  J.  H.  Prindle 
house,  was  a  dwelling  house,  near  the  street,  known  in  1845 
as  the  "  Dullard  house."  Back  of  this  house  stood  a  two- 
story  building  which  had  been  used  for  the  manufacture  of 
hats,  and  on  its  easterly  side  was  painted  in  large  letters, 
"  Hat  Factory."  The  house  in  the  rear,  since  owned  and 
occupied  by  Charles  Smith  and  his  son-in-law,  Josiali  H. 
Prindle,  was  in  18-15  owned  and  occupied  by  Marcus  T. 
Moody,  who  kept  a  furniture  wareroom  in  a  wooden  two- 
story  building  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street.     It  was  in 


u 

this  old  hat  factory  that  our  respected  fellow-citizen,  Bea- 
con James  Harvey  Searle,  first  began  business  as  a  furni- 
ture dealer.  He  opened  a  shop  there  in  1844,  but  remained 
only  about  a  year,  when  he  became  associated  with  Silas 
M.  Smith,  in  the  same  business,  back  of  the  court  house. 

Next  east  of  the  hat  factory  was  the  open  lot  of  Judge 
Lyman,  now  occupied  by  the  Clarke  library,  and  next  was 
the  Unitarian  church,  now  showing  the  same  stately  front 
as  when  it  was  erected  in  1826. 

From  the  Unitarian  church  to  South  street,  a  charming 
spot,  was  the  beautiful  homestead  of  Ebenezer  Hunt, 
which  will  be  further  noticed  later  on  in  these  reminis- 
cences. 

Dr.  Hunt  had  a  fine  apple  orchard  on  the  hillside,  and 
lots  of  his  choice  Spitzenburgs  and  Long  Johns  found  their 
way  up  into  the  Herald  office.    • 

The  present  city  hall  was  built  in  1840-50  on  the  Hunt- 
property.  There  had  been  a  contest  over  the  matter  in  the 
town  meetings  for  several  years.  Finally  it  was  decided 
to  build,  the  total  cost  not  to  exceed  $15,000.  A  committee 
of  thirteen  prominent  citizens  was  appointed,  with  full 
power  to  select  a  site  and  erect  a  building.  The  com- 
mittee consisted  of  David  Damon,  John  Clarke,  Joseph 
Conant,  Samuel  Wells.  Azariah  Clapp,  Setli  Strong, 
Lyman  Kingsley,  Winthrop  Hillyer,  Amos  H.  Bullen, 
Josiah  Hunt,  Luman  Bartlett,  Frederick  A.  Clark,  Charles 
P.  Huntington.  The  committee  first  voted  to  erect  the 
hall  on  the  site  of  the  old  town  liall,  on  the  court  house  lot, 
but  before  thej^  could  begin  the  work  a  syndicate  of  eight 
citizens,  including  Enos  Parsons,  Charles  Smith,  Ansel 
Wright,  Samuel  B.  Woodward,  Samuel  L.  Hinckley, 
Joseph  I.  West,  William  Clark,  and  Winthrop  Hillyer, 
purchased  of  his  widow  the  homestead  of  the  late  Ebenezer 
Hunt,  for  $9,000,  and  offered  the  town  a  site  for  the  new 
hall  for  $3,500.  This  offer  was  accepted,  and  the  building 
was  begun  in  1849  and  completed  in  1850.  The  remainder 
of  the  property  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  syndicate 
a  number  of  years,  without  any  sales,  until  the  members 


35 

became  wearied  with  holding  it,  and  tlie  whole  of  it  was 
finally  taken  by  Capt  Parsons,  who  erected  for  himself  a 
fine  residence  there,  now  Rahar's  Inn.  He  sold  the  corner 
lot,  next  to  South  street,  to  Winthrop  Hillyer,  who  erected 
a  two-story  storehouse  on  it,  with  a  roof  sloping  north 
and  south.  This  building  was  afterward  sold  to  Merrill 
W.  Jackson,  who  enlarged  it  to  its  present  dimensions. 
This  was  the  first  building  for  business  purposes  erected 
on  the  Hunt  property. 

Crossing  old  South  street  we  come  to  the  old  home  lot  of 
Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt.  On  the  corner  of  this  lot  stood 
the  Edwards  church,  erected  in  1833,  a  low  brick  building, 
with  a  small  steeple,  the  whole  presenting  an  inferior 
appearance.  Its  vestry  was  in  the  southerly  part  of  the 
basement,  the  entrance  being  on  the  west  side,  near  the 
southerly  end. 

We  now  come  to  a  structure  of  historic  interest,  the  old 
gambrel -roofed  house  of  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt,  the  hatter. 


FIRST   EDWARDS   CHURCH   AND   OLD   HUNT   HOUSE. 


36 

In  its  day  it  was  one  of  the  principal  residences  of  the 
town.  Yon  see  it  in  the  picture,  as  viewed  from  the  War- 
ner House  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street.  It  was  erected 
in  1770,  and  was  successively  occupied  by  Dea.  Ebenezer 
Hunt,  Dr.  Ebenezer  Hunt,  and  Dr.  David  Hunt,  and  stood 
one  hundred  years,  until  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1870. 
The  same  fire  also  destroyed  the  Edwards  church.  At  the 
time  of  its  destruction  it  was  owned  by  the  Benjamin 
North  estate,  and  was  used  for  stores  and  workshops.  John 
Hannum,  the  watchmaker,  had  a  shop  in  the  second  story, 
on  the  west  side,  and  it  was  in  that  shop  that  Samuel 
Wells,  the  clerk  of  the  courts,  was  fatally  shot  while  hand- 
ling a  pistol  in  October,  1864.  The  stores  below  had  been 
occupied  by  Wm.  F.  Arnold,  Arnold  &  Searle,  Arnold  & 
Tillotson,  Walter  W.  Pease,  and  R.  J.  Fair,  dry  goods. 

It  should  be  noted  here,  that  there  were  quite  a  number 
of  similar  gambrel-roofed  houses  erected  in  town  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Among  them  were 
the  houses  of  Solomon  Stoddard  on  Elm  street,  just  north 
of  the  Catholic  church,  lately  owned  by  Smith  college  ;  the 
Dr.  Samuel  A.  Fisk  house  on  King  street,  occupied  in  1845 
by  Dr.  Charles  Walker,  dentist ;  the  Hubbard  house  on 
Bridge  street,  lately  the  residence  of  John  W.  Hubbard  ; 
the  Osborn  house  on  Pleasant  Street,  occupied  by  the 
Osborn  sisters  ;  the  Governor  Strong  house  on  Pleasant 
street,  removed  from  Main  street,  lately  occupied  by  Dr, 
Knowlton  ;  and  the  Judge  Henshaw  house  on  Elm  street, 
now  owned  by  Bishop  F.  D.  Huntington.  These  were  of 
the  highest  type  of  architecture  for  dwelling  houses  in 
their  time,  and  are  not  surpassed  in  symmetrical  propor- 
tions by  the  more  modern  structures. 

Now  as  to  "Shop  Row."  This  was  the  common  name 
for  the  first  row  of  stores,  though  after  1850  it  began  to  be 
called  by  the  more  dignified  name  of  "Merchants  Row." 
But  in  the  common  talk  of  people  it  was  more  often  called 
"  Shop  Row."  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  Shop  Row 
of  those  days  was  not  the  Shop  Row  of  today.  Every 
building  on  the  Row,  from  South  street  to  Pleasant  street, 


37 

lias  been  either  built  new  or  remodeled  so  as  to  com- 
pletely change  its  exterior,  with  a  single  exception,  that  of 
the  block  comprising  the  Cook  jewelry  store  and  the  old 
Butler  bookstore.  This  block  remains  as  to  its  front  as  it 
was  built  in  1838,  but  it  has  been  extended  in  the  rear  so  as 
to  more  than  double  the  size  of  the  stores. 

The  merchants  on  Shop  Row  were,  at  the  west  end, 
Charles  Smith  &  Co.,  (the  "Co."  being  Marvin  M.  French, 
who  served  an  apprenticeship  with  Mr.  Smith).  They 
were  "merchant  tailors,"  and  sold  ready-made  clothing 
and  all  kinds  of  gents'  furnishing  goods.  The  same  busi- 
ness is  carried  on  there  now  by  Merritt  Clark  &  Co. ,  and 
there  has  been  no  interruption  to  it  for  sixty  years. 

In  the  store  next  below,  now  the  drug  store  of  C.  B. 
Kingsley,  was  Winthrop  Hillyer.  This  was  the  original 
store  on  Shop  Row,  established  by  Dr.  Ebenezer  Hunt  in 
1768.  Mr.  Hillyer  kept  drugs  and  groceries,  the  same  as 
his  predecessors  had  done.  He  was  clerk  for  Dr.  Hunt  and 
after  Dr.  Hunt's  retirement  he  took  the  business  and 
amassed  a  handsome  fortune  during  his  long  business 
career.  He  was  a  man  of  retiring  manners,  courteous  and 
unobtrusive  in  his  intercourse  with  people,  and  well  read 
in  literature.  The  drug  store  enjoys  the  singular  distinc- 
tion of  having  been  devoted  to  only  one  business  from  its 
establishment,  a  period  of  134  years. 

Among  Mr.  Hillyer's  clerks  were  Andrew  S.  Wood  and 
Charles  B.  Kingsley,  who  became  associated  with  him  in 
the  business,  and  for  a  great  number  of  years  Roland  Wel- 
ler  was  the  porter. 

In  the  store  next  below  Mr.  Hillyer's,  now  Lucius  S.  Da- 
vis, druggist,  John  W.  Wilson  and  Haynes  K.  Stark- 
weather, Jr.,  opened  a  drug  store  and  grocery  about  1846. 
They  were  succeeded  by  Oscar  Edwards.  There  has  been  a 
drug  store  on  this  spot  fifty-six  years. 

Jacob  Anthony,  dealer  in  boots  and  shoes,  and  Elijah 
Powers,  dry  goods,  had  stores  below,  but  were  not  in  busi- 
ness long  after  1845.  One  of  these  stores  was  occupied  by 
Nathan  Dikeman  and  his  son  Henry,  hatters,     Both  were 


38 

sent  to  tlie  legislature,  tlie  former  in  1834,  the  latter  in  1845, 
Then  came  Deacon  Daniel  Kingsley,  the  tailor.  The  dea- 
con was  one  of  those  kind-hearted,  smooth-spoken,  unob- 
trusive, inoffensive  men,  few  in  number,  who  offend  no  one 
and  live  long  and  happily.  He  was  strictly  a  tailor,  and 
never  sold  ready-made  goods.  His  store  was  the  resort  of 
the  leading  men  of  the  old  church,  and  a  half  dozen  of 
them  could  often  be  found  there  at  a  time  in  conference 
over  church  and  town  affairs.  It  was  a  common  remark 
that  "  for  a  man  to  be  in  good  standing  in  this  community 
he  must  be  a  Whig,  belong  to  the  old  church,  own  some 
meadow  land,  take  the  Hampshire  Gazette,  and  have  his 
clothes  made  at  Daniel  Kingsley 's."  Deacon  Kingsley's 
chief  assistant  was  Capt.  John  B.  Augur,  who  did  the 
measuring  and  cutting.  Capt.  Augur  was  a  very  pleasing 
man,  of  gentlemanly  manners,  and  just  the  sort  to  har- 
monize with  Deacon  Kingsley  and  his  customers.  The 
deacon  was  elected  representative  to  the  legislature  in  1855, 
together  with  Samuel  L.  Parsons,  His  store  is  now  occu- 
pied by  John  E.  Riley. 

The  next  store  below  Deacon  Kingsley's  was  John 
Clarke's,  He  kept  all  sorts  of  goods,  except  dry  goods, 
clothing  and  millinery.  He  was  at  this  time  (1845)  about 
closing  his  career  as  a  merchant  to  engage  in  banking. 
Mr.  Clarke's  store  was  where  the  Northampton  National 
Bank  now  stands,  and  was  one  of  the  first  brick  stores  on 
Shop  Row.  Mr.  Clarke  is  well  remembered  by  the  sur- 
vivors of  his  generation.  He  was  a  quiet  man,  never 
seemingly  aggressive,  but  thoughtful,  industrious,  pains- 
taking and  gentlemanly.  His  dress  was  uniformly  of  the 
old  style — broadcloth,  swallow-tailed  coat,  with  stiff  collar, 
high  in  the  back  of  the  neck. 

One  of  John  Clarke's  clerks  was  Luther  I.  Washburn, 
and  when  Mr.  Clarke  retired  from  business  in  1845,  Mr. 
Washburn  succeeded  him  and  soon  moved  his  place  of 
business  across  the  street,  to  Granite  Row,  It  was  there 
that  Wm.  H.  Todd  began  as  clerk,  and  after  the  decease  of 
Mr,  Washburn  he  took  the  business  himself  and  conducted 


;}0 

it  many  years.  Most  of  the  mercliants  wlio  dealt  in  groce- 
ries sold  snnff,  of  wliicli  large  quantities  were  used.  Mr. 
Washburn  was  the  agent  for  Lorillard's  snuff  and  tobacco, 
and  Mr.  Todd  relates  that  he  personally  sold  two  tons  of 
snuff  in  a  year. 

Below  John  Clarke's  was  Rufus  Sackett,  boot  and  shoe 
maker  and  dealer  in  those  goods,  and  below  him,  in  a  little 
low  wooden  building  was  T.  G.  Rich,  bookseller  and  book- 
binder, who  had  just  bought  the  business  of  Elisha  Turner. 

Then  came  Benj.  E.  Cook's  jewelry  store,  established  in 
1785  by  Samuel  Stiles,  who  was  succeeded  in  1793  by 
Nathan  Storrs.  Gen.  Cook  was  at  this  time  in  the  prime 
of  his  years,  a  strong,  resolute,  energetic  man,  a  fine  mili- 
tary figure,  and  a  power  in  the  general  affairs  of  the  com- 
munity. This  store,  the  old  Butler  bookstore,  and  the  Dr. 
Hunt  drug  store,  are  the  only  stores  on  Shop  Row  that 
have  never  changed  their  business  from  their  beginning. 
With  Gen.  Cook  at  this  time  was  Nathan  Storrs,  a  son  of 
Nathan  Storrs,  Sr.,  and  Wells  Storrs,  another  son  of 
Nathan,  Sr.,  was  often  seen  about  this  store.  Gen,  Cook 
being  trustee  of  his  estate  under  the  will  of  his  father. 

Next  to  Gen.  Cook's  was  the  old  bookstore  founded  by 
Simeon  Butler.  This  was  the  first  bookstore  in  town,  and 
it  has  never  been  anything  else  than  a  bookstore.  The 
business  was  begun  there  in  179C  by  Simeon  Butler,  and 
was  conducted  by  the  Butler  family  for  fifty  years.  Sid- 
ney E.  Bridgman,  the  present  senior  proprietor,  began  as  a 
boy  in  this  store  in  April,  1844,  fifty-eight  years  ago,  and 
is  still  there,  apparently  good  foi*  many  more  years  of 
active  work.  J.  Hunt  Butler,  son  of  Simeon,  was  the  suc- 
cessor of  his  father  in  the  book  business.  He  was  a  man 
of  striking  personal  appearance  and  of  very  agreeable 
manners,  courteous,  polite  and  gentlemanly.  He  was  one 
of  the  best  of  men  and  very  helpful  to  the  young  men  con- 
nected with  his  business,  as  well  as  to  others.  He  was  a 
very  capable  business  man,  took  an  active  part  in  public 
affairs,  and  was  a  leader  in  the  town  and  county.  He  was 
chosen  county  treasurer  in  1846,  and  held  the  office  until  he 


40 

left  ill  1850  to  engage  in  business  in  Philadelphia.  This 
store  has  been  enlarged  several  times  by  extensions  in  the 
rear,  and  Simeon  Butler  would  be  astonished  were  he  to 
return  to  the  scene  of  his  early  labors,  to  see  the  meager 
dimensions  of  his  store  increased  to  about  four  times  their 
original  size. 

Connected  with  the  Butler  bookstore  there  was  always  a 
book-bindery.  This  was  in  the  third  story.  There  Henry 
Childs  was  the  head  man  for  half  a  century.  He  went 
into  this  bindery  in  1837.  To  show  the  changed  condition 
of  the  town,  Mr.  Childs  said  he  had  often  looked  out  of  his 
third  story  window  where  he  could  see  Main  street  from 
the  Clarke  library  to  the  railroad  crossing,  at  eleven  in  the 
forenoon,  and  there  was  not  a  man  nor  a  team  in  sight. 

The  store  next  below  the  bookstore,  now  E.  P.  Cope- 
land's,  was  in  1845  occupied  by  Willard  Lyon,  boot  and 
shoe  dealer.  He  was  succeeded  by  Sprague  &  Baxter,  and 
afterward  by  Erastus  Slate,  the  latter  continuing  the  busi- 
ness many  years. 

We  now  reach  a  spot  of  great  historic  interest  and  com- 
mercial importance.  Here  in  1845  was  the  firm  of  Stod- 
dard &  Lathrop  (Wm.  H.  Stoddard  and  Josepli  Lathrop), 
dealers  in  dry  goods.  This  was  the  old  store  of  Benjamin 
Tappan  and  Tappan  &  Whitney.  Mr.  Tappan  began  busi- 
ness on  this  spot  in  1770,  in  a  small  wooden  buihling.  In 
1809  he  erected  a  brick  store,  twentj^-five  feet  wide  by 
twenty  feet  deep.  The  salesroom  M'as  twenty-two  by 
twenty  feet.  He  was  first  a  goklsmith,  but  changed  into 
dry  goods,  hardware,  boots  and  shoes,  groceries,  and  crock- 
ery. He  was  in  business  here  sixty-two  years,  dying  in 
1831.  The  firm  of  Tappan  &  Whitney  lasted  twenty-seven 
years.  There  has  always  been  a  large  and  profitable  busi- 
ness done  at  this  store.  The  firm  of  Stoddard  &  Lathrop 
was  succeeded  by  Stoddard,  Lathrop  &  Co.  (George  Ser- 
geant). At  different  times  Mr.  Stoddard  had  as  partners, 
Dea.  A.  J.  Lincoln  and  J.  D.  Kellogg.  He  retired  from 
business  in  1878,  after  a  continuous  service  at  this  store 
of  fifty -two  years,  and  died  in  1884,  aged  eighty  years. 


41 

The  store  in  later  years  lias  been  run  l)y  Edward  H.  Bell, 
and  now  by  Thomas  H.  Todd. 

An  incident  occnrred  here  which  illustrates  the  sentiment 
of  this  firm  with  regard  to  advertising.  The  Courier  had 
published  an  advertisement  of  George  W.  Warren  &  Co. 
of  Boston,  retail  dry  goods  dealers,  and  also  a  short  notice 
calling  attention  to  it.  This  gave  offence  to  Stoddard  & 
Lathrop,  and  Mr.  Lathrop  went  over  to  the  Courier  office 
and  gave  the  editor  a  severe  reprimand.  He  claimed  that 
a  paper  had  no  right  to  influence  the  trade  of  its  town  to 
go  elsewhere,  and  refused  for  a  year  to  advertise  in  the 
Courier.  He  had  not  learned  that  newspapers  are  for  all 
the  people,  ready  for  business  from  all  quarters,  the  same 
as  merchants,  railroads  and  all  others  seeking  public  pat- 
ronage. 

Next  below  Stoddard  &  Lathrop's  was  the  jewelry  store 
of  John  H.  Fovvle,  who  succeeded  his  father,  Nathaniel 
Fowle.  originally  a  tailor.  The  Fowles  were  in  business 
at  this  stand  more  than  sixty  years.  A  fixture  at  this  store 
was  Seth  Wright,  chief  clerk  and  watch  repairer.  He  was 
there  a  great  many  years,  and  was  as  well  known  to  the 
townspeople  as  any  of  the  merchants. 

Next  to  Fowle's,  where  John  F.  Lambie's  dry  goods  store 
is  now,  were  Solomon  and  George  Clapp,  tailors.  They 
were  not  there  long.  Solomon  died,  and  in  1850  George 
moved  to  Minnesota,  where  he  died. 

We  now  come  to  Clarke  block,  the  end  of  Shop  Row  as 
it  was  in  1845  and  for  a  few  years  later.  On  this  spot,  the 
Clarkes,  father,  sons  and  grandsons,  did  business  for  sixty- 
seven  years,  first  Samuel  Clarke  in  1793,  then  Samuel 
Clarke  &  Sons  (Cliristoi)her  and  John),  then  the  sons, 
Augustus  and  Christopher,  sons  of  Christopher.  The 
Clarkes  occupied  two  stores,  covering  the  entire  block,  and 
did  as  much  business  as  any  other  of  the  merchants  on  the 
Row. 

Below  Shop  Row  was  the  residence  of  Theodore  Strong, 
which  will  be  further  noticed  when  we  come  to  speak  of 
the  homesteads  in  the  center  of  the  town. 


4-2 

( )ii  Pleasant  street  tliere  was  only  one  place  of  business 
in  1845,  tlie  old  printing  office  of  William  Butler,  then 
used  as  a  grocery  and  fish  market  below  and  as  the  office  of 
the  Northampton  Democrat,  afterward  by  Drs.  Peck  and 
Dunlap. 

From  Pleasant  street  to  the  John  Clarke  house  on  Bridge 
street,  now  the  Norwood  hotel,  there  was  nothing  except 
vacant  lots.  The  Connecticut  River  Railroad  Company 
erected  a  brick  building  on  the  west  corner  of  Main  and 
Hawley  streets  about  1850,  in  the  second  story  of  which  it 
had  its  office,  and  in  the  first  story  Lewis  Mclntyre  carried 
on  a  business  in  heavy  goods,  coal,  flour,  salt,  etc.  He  was 
the  first  dealer  in  coal  in  this  town,  and  at  first  sold  only 
small  quantities,  all  the  stores,  shops,  offices  and  houses 
being  heated  with  wood  stoves  or  open  fireplaces. 

THE   ENGINE   COMPANIES. 

In  the  forties,  fifties  and  sixties  the  fire  engine  companies 
were  a  prominent  feature  of  the  town.  There  were  two 
companies,  the  Deluge,  with  its  headquarters  at  the  upper 
end  of  Main  street,  and  the  Torrent,  with  its  headquarters 
in  the  old  town  hall.  The  Deluge  company  was  made  up 
of  farmers  and  laborers,  strong,  muscular  men,  and  the 
Torrent  company  was  recruited  mostly  from  the  merchants 
and  their  clerks.  There  were  frequent  contests  between 
them  to  determine  which  machine  would  throw  the  highest 
stream.  These  were  held  in  front  of  the  old  church,  the 
steeple  being"  the  standard  and  the  engines  stationed  at  the 
reservoir  near  the  center  of  the  street.  The  judges  were 
stationed  on  the  top  of  one  of  the  stores  opposite  the 
church.  The  companies  put  forth  their  utmost  efforts,  the 
foremen  mounted  on  the  machines,  doing  their  best  to 
urge  on  their  men  with  shouts  and  extravagant  gesticula- 
tions. Often  the  streams  would  pass  the  pinnacle  of  the 
weather  vane  ten,  fifteen  and  twenty  feet,  at  which  times 
the  plaudits  of  the  large  crowds  in  attendance  rang  out 
their  encouraging  notes.  The  Deluge  was  usually  the  win- 
ner in  these  contests,  but  the  Torrent  boys  fought  nobly. 


OLV   MANSION   HOUSE — WEST  VIEW. 


OLD  MANSION   HOUSE — EAST  VIEW, 


43 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  CENTER  OF  THE  TOWN,  CONTINUED— NORTH  SIDE  OF  MAIN  STREET, 
FROM  COLLEGE  HILL  TO  RAILROAD  CROSSING  —  COURT  STREET, 
NORTH   OF  COURT   HOUSE  AND   OLD   TOWN   HALL. 

'Tis  greatly  wise  to  talk  with  our  past  hours. 

—  Young. 

Let  US  begin  again  at  the  westerly  end  of  Main  street 
and  come  leisurely  down  on  the  northerly  side  and  take  a 
look  at  the  old-timers  who  were  there  in  the  years  1840  to 
1850. 

First  is  the  Mansion  House,  the  aristocratic  hostelry  of 
the  town,  a  large,  three-story  brick  buikling,  with  base- 
ment, standing  on  the  site  of  the  present  Catholic  church 
and  parsonage.  Capt.  Jonathan  Brewster  was  the  land- 
lord. To  know  Capt.  Brewster  was  to  know  a  typical 
tavern-keeper  of  the  old  school.  He  was  a  large  man, 
stout  and  tall,  and  if  you  heard  him  give  an  order  you 
would  lose  no  time  in  arguing  the  question  with  him.  He 
was  a  popular  man  with  his  patrons,  and  the  Mansion 
House  under  his  management  gained  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion and  was  well  patronized. 

Below  the  Mansion  House  was  the  canal  storehouse  (now 
Warren's  livery  stable),  where  the  freight  was  received. 
The  three  large  iron  hooks,  from  which  the  pulleys  hung 
which  lowered  and  hoisted  the  freight  to  and  from  the 
boats,  are  still  to  be  seen  under  the  eaves  on  the  easterly 
side.  The  shed  now  seen  on  the  east  side  was  not  there 
when  the  canal  was  in  operation.  After  the  canal  came 
into  disuse,  this  storehouse  was  converted  into  stores.     The 

44 


4^ 

east  side  was  occupied  by  Wright  &  Rust  and  the  west  side 
by  Charles  P.  Kingsley. 

Crossing  the  canal  and  towpath  —  there  was  no  street 
there  then — we  come  to  an  old  l)rown  two-story  wooden 
building  near  the  towpath,  where  Wright  &  Rust  did  busi- 
ness before  they  rnoved  to  the  canal  storehouse.  The 
Edwards  church  now  covers  the  site  oi'  this  building.  The 
street  was  considerably  higher  than  the  sill  of  this  build- 
ing, and  to  reach  the  front  door  it  was  necessary  to  descend 
two  or  three  steps.  Wright  &  Rust  were  in  this  building 
about  1S40.  Their  partnership  of  twenty-six  years  closed 
in  1848. 

Next  below  was  a  vacant  lot,  and  then  came  Colonade 
Row.  so  named  by  Daniel  Collins,  wlio  converted  the  old 
Curtis  tavern  into  two  stores,  D.  Collins  &  Co.  doing  a 
grocery  business  in  the  east  store  and  William  F.  Arnold, 
crockery  and  hardware,  in  the  west  store. 

The  present  Masonic  street  was  not  much  of  a  street  in 
1845.  It  only  extended  back  a  few  rods  to  a  large  barn, 
where  Asahel  Wood  and  Cornelius  Delano  kept  a  livery 
stable.  There  were  several  wooden  buildinus  in  back  there, 
used  for  tenements,  with  a  driveway  to  William  Closson's 
bakery  on  the  bank  of  the  canal,  now  State  street. 

Masonic  block,  since  remodeled,  enlarged  and  improved 
by  Ansel  Wright,  was  in  1845  owned  by  J.  P.  Williston. 
In  the  west  corner  was  the  shop  of  S.  D.  Thayer,  harness- 
maker,  and  below  was  the  large  stove  store  of  Willard  A. 
Arnold,  the  inventor  of  the  "  Yankee  cook  stove."  As  be- 
fore stated  in  these  sketches,  Mr.  Williston  had  his  'office  in 
the  front  of  the  second  story  of  this  building  and  the 
Hampshire  Herald  office  was  in  the  rear  of  tlie  third  story. 

Below  this  block  was  a  wooden  building.  Nathan  Dike- 
man,  who  had  just  retired  from  his  long  partnership  with 
Col.  George  Shepard,  had  his  hat  store  next  to  Arnold's 
stove  store,  and  below  him  were  Michael  Williams,  grocer, 
and  Marcus  T.  Moody,  dealer  in  furniture,  occupying  the 
first  and  second  floors. 

Then  came  Judge  Joseph  Lyman's  large  back  yard,  barn, 
shed  and  house,  of  which  more  will  be  said  later. 


46 

This  brings  us  down  to  the  Lyman  bnihling,  a  two-story 
brick  store,  standing  east  of  Judge  Lyman's  dooryard. 
Amos  H,  Bullen  had  a  news  and  periodical  shop  in  this 
building  and  the  Gazette  office  was  on  the  second  floor, 
with  the  power  jjress  standing  in  front. 

Between  the  Lyman  block  and  the  'Warner  House,  or 
"  Warner's  Coffee  House,"  as  it  was  often  called,  there  was 
a  low  wooden  structure,  where  Sydenham  C.  Parsons  and 
his  brother,  Isaac  S.  Parsons,  kept  a  drug  store  and  gro- 
cery. The  second  story  was  used  for  sleeping  rooms  for  the 
Warner  House  guests. 

Isaac  Clark  previously  kept  a  drug  store  in  this  little 
store.  He  had  been  in  the  same  business  in  company  with 
J.  P.  Williston. 

The  Warner  House  was  a  noted  tavern,  and  had  a  large 
patronage.  Here  the  four-horse  stages  drew  up  regularly, 
day  and  night,  on  their  arrival  from  and  departure  for 
Boston  and  Albany,  Hartford  and  New  Haven,  and  Brat- 
tleboro  and  Dartmouth.  The  house  was  a  wooden  struct- 
ure, three  stories,  with  an  ell  on  the  east  side,  underneath 
which  tliere  was  a  driveway  to  the  barn  and  sheds  in  the 
rear.  There  was  a  spacious  piazza  in  front,  with  colonial 
posts,  covering  the  second  story.  The  bar-room  and  office 
were  in  front,  on  the  east  side,  with  a  door  opening  into 
the  driveway.  The  parlor  or  reception  room  was  on  the 
west  side.  Both  rooms  had  large  fire-places,  around  which 
comfort  and  good  cheer  aVjounded.  The  building  was  old 
and  had  outgrown  its  usefulness,  when  it  was  destroyed  by 
fire  in  1S70.  Let  us  stop  here  awhile  and  talk  with  Mr. 
Warner.  He  was  intelligent  and  interesting  in  conversa- 
tion, a  medium  sized  man,  active  and  efficient.  During  the 
twenty-three  years  that  he  kept  this  tavern  he  formed  a 
wide  acquaintance  and  was  very  influential  in  the  political 
field.  He  was  a  representative  in  the  legislature  five  years, 
also  a  member  of  the  senate,  and  exerted  a  great  influence 
in  the  community.  He  had  a  large  family,  all  of  whom 
were  influential,  the  son  bearing  his  name  holding  the  office 
of   secretary   of    the   commonwealth  eighteen  years.     His 


4t 

tavern  was  the  principal  resort  of  people  who  came  here  to 
attend  court — judges,  lawyers,  jurors,  witnesses,  and  dep- 
uty sheriffs,  and  travelers  from  far  and  near  found  here 
most  acceptable  entertainment.  His  name  became  almost 
a  household  word  throughout  Western  Massachusetts,  so 
well  known  was  he  to  all  the  people. 


OLIVER  WARNER — TAVERN   KEEPER 

In  the  rear  of  the  -Warner  tavern  were  the  barn  and 
sheds  connected  with  the  house,  and  a  livery  stable  a  little 
to  the  west,  kept  by  Ebenezer  Strong  and  John  A.  Clark. 
There  was  a  pump  there,  which  was  resorted  to  by  the 
village  business  people  for  their  supply  of  water. 

Next  to  the  Warner  House  was  the  store  of  Col.  George 
Shepard,  the  hatter,  and  next  to  him  was  Joseph  G.  Eustis, 


48 

liarness-maker.  Then  came  Capt.  Enos  Parsons,  who  kept 
a  barber-shop,  and  sold  periodicals,  and  was  also  express 
agent.  The  captain  was  then  a  young  man,  full  of  energy 
and  ambition.  He  engaged  in  brokerage,  in  which  he  was 
quite  successful,  and  then  gravitated  into  the  practice  of 
law,  becoming  one  of  the  leading  and  most  influential  citi- 
zens of  the  town. 

Capt.  Parsons  was  one  of  the  most  active  men  the  town 
ever  had.  He  was  distinguished  for  his  self-reliance, 
energy,  determination,  and  general  business  capacity.  He 
was  long  in  active  life.  Beginning  as  a  barber  in  the  early 
forties,  he  advanced  solely  by  his  own  efforts  to  be  auc- 
tioneer, broker,  merchant,  lawyer,  railroad  agent  and  set- 
tler of  many  estates.  He  took  an  active  interest  in  the 
town  meetings  and  was  very  influej)tial  in  town  affairs. 
He  did  much,  as  president  of  the  village  improvement 
society,  to  beautify  the  town  by  setting  out  shade  trees. 
Few  men  have  lived  here  who  have  been  as  prominent  and 
influential  as  Capt.  Enos  Parsons. 

Col.  George  Shepard  was  for  fifty  years  in  business  here 
as  hatter,  beginning  with  Nathan  Dikeman.  The  firm  of 
Dikeman  &  Shepard  was  almost  as  well  known  here  as  the 
firm  of  Wright  &  Rust,  or  Tappan  &  Whitney.  Col. 
Shepard  married  a  daughter  of  Oliver  Warner,  the  tavern- 
keeper.  He  was  a  selectman  several  years.  He  was  a 
quiet,  industrious,  inoffensive  man,  given  to  moderation. 
It  was  one  of  his  peculiarities  that  he  rarely  wore  an  over- 
coat. No  matter  how  severe  the  weather  was,  he  walked 
back  and  forth  to  his  house  on  King  street  with  only  the 
same  clothing  that  he  wore  in  the  house  and  shop. 

Then  came  the  meat  market  and  grocery  of  Justin 
Thayer  <&  Co.,  and  to  the  present  day  a  market  has  been 
kept  on  the  same  spot. 

James  Reed,  merchant  tailor,  came  next.  With  him  was 
his  brother,  Warren  Reed.  He  was  succeeded  by  George 
Wells  and  his  son,  William,  and  by  Wells  &  Hibbard, 
who  carried  on  the  same  business  there  many  years. 

The  post  office  was  kept  in  different  places  on  Granite 


49 

Row  forty  years  or  more.  For  a  long  time  it  was  in  tlie 
present  store  of  Mandell.  the  boot  and  shoe  dealer,  when 
Lorenzo  W.  Joy  was  postmaster. 

The  Northampton  bank  occupied  the  east  corner  of 
Granite  Row.  with  the  law  office  of  C.  P.  Huntington  and 
William  Allen  in  the  second  story,  and  Judge  Forbes  on 
the  third  floor.  It  was  here  that  the  great  bank  robbery 
occurred  in  January,  1876,  when  nearly  a  million  and  a 
half  dollars*  worth  of  money,  bonds  and  stocks  were 
stolen.  Charles  F.  Smith,  lawyer,  had  an  office  on  this 
Row,  and  in  1840  Capt.  John  B.  Augur  had  a  tailor  shop 
there. 

There  was  no  Center  street,  as  now.  and  no  building  back 
of  the  old  church,  except  the  boys'  high  school,  on  the  lot 
now  occupied  bj^  the  Center  Grammar  school.  Court  street 
extended  in  the  rear  of  the  church  and  connected  with 
Main  street.  The  street  between  the  bank  and  the  church 
was  mainly  used  as  a  driveway  to  the  Warner  House  barns 
and  the  livery  stable  of  Ebenezer  Strong  and  John  Clark, 

The  old  church  and  the  court  house  are  left  for  further 
notice  later  on.  Rev.  Charles  Wiley  was  the  pastor  of  this 
church  from  1837  to  1845,  and  Rev.  E.  Y.  Swift  from  1845 
to  1851.  The  court  house  officers  were— Ithamar  Conkey 
of  Amherst,  judge  of  pi'obate  ;  Samuel  F.  Lyman,  register 
of  probate ;  Samuel  Wells,  clerk  of  courts  ;  Samuel  L. 
Hinckle3%  high  sheriff  ;  Dr.  Daniel  Stebbins,  county  treas- 
urer to  184fJ  and  J.  H.  Butler  1846  to  1850:  Giles  C.  Kel- 
logg of  Hadley,  register  of  deeds  to  1846  and  Harvey  Kirk- 
land  1846  to  1871. 

Between  the  church  and  the  court  house  was  a  three- 
story  bi-ick  building,  owned  by  Josiah  D.  Whitney,  who 
had  kept  a  store  there  many  years.  It  was  known  as  the 
"  Whitney  building."  S.  W.  Hopkins  had  a  dr}^  goods 
store  in  the  west  part  and  Miss  Sarah  Clark,  familiarly 
known  as  '"  Aunt  Sarah,"'  kept  a  millinery  store  in  the  east 
part.  ''Aunt  Sarah"  was  a  maiden  lady  and  lived  to  a 
good  old  age.  She  carried  on  the  millinery  business  in  this 
town  a  long  time  and  finally  removed  to  Williamsburg, 


50 

where  in  lier  later  years  she  did  a  small  business  in  that 
line.  Mr.  Hopkins  is  still  living  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y..  and 
is  yet  a  vigorous  and  active  man.  After  Mr,  Hopkins, 
George  P.  Dickinson  kejDt  a  dry  goods  store  in  this 
building. 

We  must  not  pass  unnoticed  the  old  town  hall,  an  infe- 
rior looking  building,  ill  adapted  to  the  uses  to  which  it 
was  put.  It  was  built  on  what  at  that  time  was  a  steep 
side  hill,  on  the  plan  of  the  old-fashioned  cider-mills, 
where  the  apples  were  unloaded  in  the  loft  and  the  pressing 
of  the  cheeses  done  below.  The  hall  was  entered  from  the 
west  corner,  by  a  balcony  extending  along  the  front,  with 
the  door  in  the  center  facing  Main  street.  There  was  a 
stairway  at  the  west  corner,  by  the  side  of  a  stone  wall, 
leading  to  the  level  of  the  basement.  The  hall  would  not 
seat  more  than  250  to  300  people.  The  basement  was  used 
by  the  fire  department.  It  was  in  this  basement  that 
Wright  &  Rust  began  in  1823  their  long  business  career, 
dissolving  the  copartnership  in  1848,  and  each  partner  con- 
tinuing in  business  a  long  time  afterward. 

Across  King  street,  on  the  corner,  stood  a  famous  old 
building,  where  the  old  firm  of  S.  &  C.  Osborn  (Sophia  and 
Cecelia),  aunts  of  our  venerable  citizen,  C.  H.  Dickinson, 
kept  a  milliner}"  store.  They  were  maiden  ladies  and  con- 
tinued in  business  thirty-two  years.  They  were  the  leading 
milliners  of  the  town  and  county,  and  for  those  days  did  a 
great  business.  Their  sister,  Mrs.  Ruth  B.  Dickinson,  was 
long  associated  with  them,  and  when  the  two  Osborns  re- 
tired in  1851,  she  took  the  business  and  carried  it  on  in  con- 
nection with  her  son,  C.  H.  Dickinson. 

It  was  in  this  building  that  Ebenezer  Hancock,  father  of 
our  Andrew  P.  Hancock,  the  veteran  printer  and  janitor 
of  the  old  church,  had  his  harness  shop  about  forty  years, 
and  his  appearance  in  the  doorway,  arrayed  in  his  large 
leather  apron,  and  his  spectacles,  was  a  familiar  sight. 

North  of  this  building  was  a  small  building  occupied  by 
Samuel  W.  Lee,  tinner.  He  did  business  there  about  forty 
years.  His  old  white  horse  was  almost  as  well  known  to 
the  village  people  as  Mr.  Lee  himself. 


Further  north,  facing  on  King  street,  was  T.  B.  Hutch- 
ins'  house  and  restaurant.  There  was  a  sign  over  the  walk, 
set  on  posts,  under  which  those  passed  wlio  entered  the 
restaurant,  wliich  was  in  the  soutli  front  corner.  Tliere 
was  a  well  back  of  the  house,  which  was  the  resort  of  many 
of  the  merchants  for  water.  Mr.  Hutchins  was  accused  of 
selling  liquors,  and  Mr.  Williston  got  after  him  for  so 
doing,  which  caused  him  trouble  and  created  much  ill  feel- 
ing. Mrs.  Hutchins  was  a  very  fine  cook,  and  her  pies, 
cakes  and  ice-cream  were  famous  in  all  this  region.  The 
peculiar  flavor  of  the  Hutchins  ice-cream  still  lingers  in 
the  memory  of  our  older  people. 

The  accompanying  picture  of  these  buildings  was  taken 
in  1855,  when  there  had  been  some  changes  in  the  occu- 
pants of  the  buildings.  The  tinners  were  Lee  &  Porter, 
and  Wallace  A.  Hubbard,  another  harness  maker,  occupied 
the  northerly  part  of  the  small  building,  and  Patterson  & 
Eustis  were  in  the  rooms  formerly  occupied  by  S.  •&  C. 
Osborn,  but  the  buildings  were  just  as  they  had  been  for 
forty  years.  The  Hutchins  house  stood  where  Dr.  Rob- 
erts' house  now  stands,  and  the  other  two  buildings  were 
moved  in  1861  to  the  rear  and  converted  into  tenements  by 
Charles  S.  Crouch,  carpenter,  and  are  still  there. 

In  front  of  the  Hutchins  house,  in  the  fork  of  the  roads, 
there  were  two  very  large  elm  trees,  standing  near  each 
other,  so  that  their  limbs  interlocked,  and  between  these 
trees  were  a  set  of  hayscales,  where  most  of  the  public 
weighing  was  done.  These  scales  were  owned  by  Ansel 
Wright  and  Christopher  Wright,  and  were  in  use  a  long- 
time, but  they  finally  gave  way  to  the  march  of  public  im- 
provement, which  cleaned  out  that  whole  region — hay- 
scales,  trees,  town  hall,  stone  wall,  old  pump  and  water 
trough. 

The  old  pump  referred  to  was  located  near  the  easterly 
corner  of  the  town  hall.  Water  there  was  at  one  time 
supplied  from  a  reservoir  on  the  present  site  of  A. 
McCallum's  house  on  Prospect  street. 

This  reservoir  was  built  by  a  company  of  citizens,  to 


52 


supply  the  Mansion  House,  Warner  House,  and  a  few  other 
places.  It  worked  well  for  awhile,  but  finally  got  out  of 
repair  and  was  given  up.  It  was  in  use  some  time  after 
1845. 

The  water  supply  of  the  town  was  of  the  poorest.  None 
of  the  stores  on  Shop  Row  had  any  supply  at  all.  When 
water  was  needed  they  went  to  some  neighboring  well  for 
it.  There  was  a  well  in  the  cellar  of  the  Whitney  build- 
ing, and  Mr.  Whitney,  whose  business  consisted  in  part  in 
dealing  in  liquors,  remarked,  when  looking  at  his  old  well 
after  he  had  retired  from  business,  that  "he  had  sold  a 
good  many  gallons  of  that  water  at  $1,50  a  gallon." 

COURT  STREET,  NORTH  OF  COURT  HOUSE. 

In  the  rear  of  the  court  house  and  the  Whitney  building 
were  a  few  business  places.  The  old  church  used  the  base- 
ment of  the  present  Gazette  office  for  a  vestry  before  it 
erected  a  wooden  chapel,  and  the  center  district  schools 
occupied  the  floor  above.  The  basement  of  the  old  church 
was  used  for  storage  purposes  of  various  sorts,  with  large 
doors  on  the  east  and  west  sides,  near  the  north  end. 

On  the  east  corner  of  Gothic  and  Court  streets,  Deacon 
Chauncey  Colton  had  a  furniture  store,  and  for  a  few  years 
he  was  the  agent  of  a  union  grocerj'  store,  which  was  not 
successful.  The  deacon  was  a  good  man,  but  not  a  money- 
maker.    He  erected  the  block  which  he  occupied. 

Next  to  Deacon  Colton's  were  the  furniture  rooms  of 
Silas  M.  Smith,  who  lived  long  and  prospered. 

In  the  rear,  where  B.  J.  Higgins'  blacksmith  shop  now 
is,  Solomon  Weller  carried  on  the  same  business,  and  before 
him  Bohan  Clapp  had  his  blacksmith  shop  there,  and  there 
has  been  a  blacksmith  shop  on  that  spot  more  than  one 
hundred  years. 

Next  below,  where  Jones's  block  now  stands,  was  a  two- 
story  brick  building.  Elijah  Abbott  had  a  paint  shop  on  the 
first  floor,  and  in  the  second  story  was  John  Metcalf,  the 
only  exclusive  job  printer  in  town.     His  son,  Lyman  Met- 


53 

calf,  became  associated  witli  him  in  tliu  business,  and  witli 
them  another  son,  William,  worked  many  years.  The  Met- 
calfs  did  a  good  business  for  those  days.  Until  about  1850 
they  had  only  the  old-fashioned  hand  presses.  Then  they 
put  in  a  small  press,  run  by  foot  power,  and  that  was  the 
first  job  press  run  by  other  than  hand  power  used  in  this 
town.  Sylvester  Judd's  History  of  Hadley  was  printed  in 
this  office,  all  the  press  work  being  done  on  a  hand  press  by 
Lyman  Metcalf.  Mr.  Judd  had  obtained  subscriptions  for 
the  book  before  he  began  printing,  amounting  to  about 
three  hundred.  He  would  not  print  more  than  the  number 
ordered,  so  distrustful  was  he  of  the  demand,  but  the  Met- 
calfs  had  more  faith  in  it,  and,  with  Mr.  Judd's  consent, 
printed  one  hundred  and  fifty  extra  sheets,  which  they  kept 
unbound  until  the  demand  caused  them  to  be  put  into  the 
binder's  hands.  The  binding  was  done  at  the  Butler  bind- 
ery, under  the  supervision  of  Henry  Cliilds.  The  work  of 
printing  occupied  a  long  time,  and  while  it  was  in  progress 
Mr.  Judd  visited  the  printing  office  almost  daily,  to  super- 
vise the  proof-reading.  He  was  a  most  painstaking  man, 
and  looked  carefully  after  every  detail  of  his  work. 

Next  to  the  job  printing  office  was  a  wooden  building, 
where  James  R.  Day,  a  man  considerably  over  six  feet  in 
height,  carried  on  a  stove  and  tin.  shop.  He  was  a  ram- 
pant Whig,  and  he  and  Augustus  Clarke  and  Miles  Moise 
did  most  of  the  field  work  for  the  Whig  party.  After  Day 
came  Nathan  Hines  Felton  in  the  stove  store. 

One  day  Mr.  Felton  was  addressing  a  letter  to  a  man  in 
Goshen.  Henry  Childs  happened  to  be  present  and  was 
looking  over  Felton's  shoulder  as  he  was  addressing  the 
letter.  Childs  was  fond  of  a  joke  and  he  played  one  on 
Felton.  When  Felton  had  written  "Go,"  Childs  said, 
"t-i-o-n,"  and  Felton  wrote  it  out  in  good  faith,  making  it 
read  *'Gotion,"  but  after  looking  at  it  for  awhile,  and 
comparing  it  with  the  smile  on  Childs's  face,  he  concluded 
that  if  his  letter  ever  got  to  Goshen  it  w^ould  have  to  be 
addressed  according  to  the  legal  way  of  spelling  the  name 
of  the  town. 


54 

Then  came  C.  M.  Kinney,  the  marble  worker,  on  the 
corner  of  Court  and  King  streets,  and  the  same  business 
is  still  carried  on  there  by  his  son,  C.  W.  Kinney,  and 
William  Godfrey,  under  the  name  of  the  Hampshire  Mar- 
ble Company, 

On  King  street,  opposite  Squire  Wells's  (the  next  house 
north  of  J.  P.  Williston's),  was  the  paint-shop  of  David  B. 
Whitcomb,  where  pure  Democratic  paint  was  mixed  and 
unadulterated  Democracy  expounded.  Mr.  Whitcomb  had 
his  paint-shop  there  about  thirty  years. 

A  familiar  figure  around  the  stove  stores  and  tin  shops 
of  this  period  was  an  old  colored  man,  who  went  by  the 
name  of  ''Juba,"  from  his  frequent  use  of  that  word  by 
way  of  ejaculation.  '*  By  Juba  ! ''  was  his  habitual  method 
of  emphasizing— his  exclamation  point. 

THE    TAVERNS    AND    STORES    FAVORITE    PLACES    OF   RESORT. 

It  was  a  prevalent  custom  in  these  olden  times  for  men 
to  gather  in  the  stores,  as  well  as  in  the  taverns,  in  even- 
ings and  during  the  days,  for  general  visiting  and  discus- 
sion of  public  affairs.  Wright  &  Rusfs  store  was  a  favorite 
place  for  the  farmers  and  laboring  people  to  assemble,  and 
after  the  dissolution  of  the  firm  in  1848  and  the  establish- 
ment of  a  store  by  each  of  the  partners,  the  same  custom 
prevailed  in  both  stores.  Around  the  stove  at  Theodore 
Rust's  store  were  found  every  day  a  party  of  farmers  and 
laborers  from  South  street  and  "Pancake  Plain,"  and  the 
same  was  the  case  at  Ansel  Wright's  store.  The  store  of 
Deacon  Daniel  Kingsley  was  a  favorite  place  for  another 
grade  of  men  to  assemble.  There,  on  many  a  forenoon, 
were  gathered  a  goodly  company  of  old  church  men,  pat- 
rons of  Deacon  Kingsley  and  fellow-worshipers  in  the 
church.  There  often  were  found  Deacon  Eli])halet  Will- 
iams, Lewis  Strong,  and  others  prominent  in  the  church. 
Church  matters  were  discussed  there,  and  the  guiding- 
minds  were  those  of  Lewis  Strong  and  Deacon  Williams, 
from  whose  decisions  there  was  no  appeal.    • 


KW-T-.-XT-  :3Kfe5IS!rr-<^; 


EDWIN   KIXGSLEY'S  HOUSE  AND   BLACKSMITH   SHOP.    HOLLEY    HOUSE 

AND   HAT   FACTORY. 

The  house  of  Edwin  Kingsley  and  his  blacksmith  shop, 
(the  house  on  the  right,  the  blacksmith  shop  next,) 
shown  in  this  picture,  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Academy  of  Music.  The  house  was  built  by  Nathaniel 
Day  in  1792,  and  about  1850  was  removed  to  the  rear  and 
gave  place  to  a  two-story  brick  house,  in  which  Mr.  Kings- 
ley  lived  and  died.  This  house  and  the  blacksmith  shop 
were  torn  down  when  the  Academy  of  Music  was  erected 
by  E.  H.  R.  Lyman  in  1891.  The  HoUey  house,  next  below 
the  blacksmith  shop,  stands  there  now,  just  as  it  stood  sixty 
years  ago.  The  hat  factory,  next  below  the  Holley  house, 
was  destroyed  by  fire  about  1850.  That  building  stood  in 
front  of  the  present  Prindle  residence.  This  picture  is  from 
a  painting  on  wood,  made  about  fifty  years  ago.  It  is  not  as 
accurate  as  a  photograph,  but  it  serves  to  give  a  fairly  cor- 
rect idea  of  that  part  of  Main  street  as  it  was  a  half- 
century  ago. 


5.5 


CHAPTER  V. 

DISRUPTION  OF  POLITICAL  PARTIES  —  THE  FREE  SOIL  CAMPAIGN  —  RE- 
MARKABLE TRIUMPH  OF  ERASTUS  HOPKINS  —  INDEPENDENT  POLITI- 
CAL MOVEMENTS  —  ELECTION  OF  SAMUEL  WELLS,  ELISHA  H.  BREWS- 
TER AND  HARVEY  KIRKLAND  FOR  COUNTY  OFFICERS  AS  INDEPEN- 
DENT CANDIDATES  —  ELECTION  OF  LUKE  LYMAN  FOR  REGISTER  OF 
PROBATE  —  THE  WAR  ON  MAJOR  KIRKLAND  —  DAVID  B.  WHITCOMB, 
LEADING  DEMOCRAT — HAMPSHIRE  COUNTY  THE  BIRTHPLACE  OF  PO- 
LITICAL INDEPENDENCE. 

Thy  spirit,  Independence,  let  me  share; 

Lord  of  the  lion  heart  and  eagle  eye. 
Thy  steps  I  follow  with  my  l)osombare. 

Nor  heed  the  storm  that  howls  along  t  he  sky. 

— Tobias  Smollett,  1771. 

The  organization  of  the  Free  Soil  party  and  its  improved 
prospects  in  1848,  bring  ns  to  the  beginning  of  the  most 
remarkable  political  period  in  the  history  of  the  town. 
Other  political  campaigns  had  been  stoutly  contested,  but 
had  invariably  resulted  in  the  triumph  of  the  Whigs,  until 
that  part}^  came  to  believe  itself  invincible.  Here,  how- 
ever, was  a  fight,  in  which  it  more  than  met  its  match.  It 
proved  to  be  its  Waterloo. 

The  Free  Soil  party  was  in  18-48  very  strong  in  North- 
ampton. It  had  the  powerful  support  of  Erastus  Hopkins, 
one  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  the  town,  and  until  then 
one  of  the  Whig  leaders.  He  had  been  a  leading  "Con- 
science Whig,"  and  he  came  to  the  Free  Soil  party  fully 
equipped  with  sound  anti-slavery  doctrine  and  gifted  with 
a  fluency  of  speech,  a  logical  power  and  a  brilliancy  of  elo- 
quence rarely  equalled.     He  had  a  large  personal  following, 

50 


0( 


He  was  a  geiitlL'iiiau  ot:  [)k'asini;-  luaiuier.-;.  uf  dignitied  and 
stately  presence,  possessed  a  kindly  disposition,  and  won 
friends  easily.  He  rallied  and  united  the  anti-slavery  forces 
in  splendid  shape.  The  nomination  of  Van  Buren  was  a 
bitter  pill  to  the  old  Whigs,  who  had  fought  him  in  two 
previous  Presidential  campaigns,  and  those  of  them  who 
accepted  him  as  the  anti-slavery  leader  did  so  with  great 
reluctance.  They  overlooked  the  man  and  his  antecedents, 
and  voted  for  the  anti-slavery  principles  which  his  can- 
didacy represented. 

Mr.  Hopkins  addressed  his  fellow-citizens  many  times 
during  the  campaign,  holding  large  meetings  in  the  town 
hall,  and  such  was  his  influence  and  so  strong  was  the  anti- 
slavery  feeling  that  when  the  votes  for  President  were 
counted  they  stood— for  Martin  Van  Buren,  Free  Soil,  389 ; 
for  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor,  Whig,  307  ;  for  Gen.  Lewis  Cass, 
Democrat,  90.  The  vote  was  the  largest  that  had  ever  been 
cast  in  the  town. 

The  effect  of  this  vote  was  most  depressing  to  the  Whigs. 
The  Gazette  declared  that  their  defeat  was  unexpected.  It 
had  looked  for  about  an  even  race  between  the  Whigs  and 
Free  Soilers,  and  to  be  beaten  by  a  majority  of  eighty-two 
was  mortifying  to  the  last  degree.  That  the  great  Whig 
party  of  Northampton,  embracing  the  wealth,  the  culture, 
the  flower  of  the  town,  should  be  defeated,  cast  down, 
overthrown,  by  thi:'  new  Free  Soil  party  under  the  lead  of 
Erastus  Hopkins,  was  a  terrible  blow  to  its  pride. 
■  But  the  end  was  not  yet.  The  Presidential  election  and 
the  state  election  were  not  held  on  the  same  day.  The 
voting  for  President  came  a  week  before  the  voting  for 
state  officers.  There  was  yet  a  chance  for  the  Whigs 
to  recover  their  lost  ground.  They  tried  to  improve  it. 
Their  candidate  for  Governor  was  George  N.  Briggs  of 
Pittsfield,  whose  popularity  with  the  people  of  Western 
Massachusetts  had  been  repeatedly  tested.  He  was  the 
most  available  candidate  they  could  name.  He  was  a  dea- 
con of  the  Baptist  church,  had  been  twice  elected  to  Con- 
gress, and  had  been   four  times  elected   Governor.     The 


58 

main  object  of  the  Whigs  was  to  "down"  Mr.  Hopkins. 
He  had  been  sent  by  them  as  one  of  the  town's  representa- 
tives to  the  legislature  four  years,  he  had  left  their  party, 
and  their  hatred  of  him  was  intense.  He  was  again  put 
in  nomination  by  the  Free  Soilers.  Many  of  the  old-line 
Democrats  had  joined  the  Free  Soil  ranks,  but  a  few  still 
remained  faithful  to  their  old  flag. 

With  Mr.  Hopkins  the  Free  Soilers  nominated  Major 
William  Parsons  of  South  street,  a  mild,  even-tempered, 
inoffensive  man.  who  had  been  a  Democrat.  Tliis  made  a 
strong  ticket,  as  it  combined  both  the  former  Whig  and 
Democratic  elements.  Many  of  the  Democrats  who  still 
adhered  to  their  state  ticket,  supported  Hopkins  and  Par- 
sons. They  had  been  held  down  with  their  noses  on  the 
revolving  grindstone  by  the  Whigs  so  many  years  that 
they  were  ready  to  vote  for  almost  anything  that  would 
defeat  their  old  enemy.  The  Whigs  nominated  as  their 
representative  ticket  Osmyn  Baker  and  Charles  Smith. 

The  day  of  election  came.  Every  voter  in  town  who 
could  be  got  out  was  brought  to  the  polls.  The  total  vote 
was  833,  exceeding  the  vote  cast  for  President  the  week 
before,  47.  Hopkins  and  Parsons  were  elected,  receiving 
6;:^  more  votes  than  the  Whig  ticket,  and  a  clear  majority 
of  23.  This  was  a  splendid  personal  triumph  for  Mr.  Hop- 
kins, and  was  so  regarded  by  both  his  f  liends  and  enemies. 
The  next  year  the  fight  was  renewed,  with  equal  bitterness 
and  intensity,  but  the  result  was  the  same.  Editor  Hawley 
felt  keenly  the  defeat  of  his  party  and  spoke  of  the  new 
anti-slavery  movement  as  the  "  Free  Soil  delusion." 

The  night  before  the  election  the  Whigs  held  a  rally  in 
the  town  hall,  with  addresses  by  several  of  their  local 
leaders,  one  of  whom  denounced  Mr.  Hopkins  as  a  "politi- 
cal peacock."'  This  so  offended  some  of  the  Whigs  that  a 
number  of  them  made  it  an  excuse  for  voting  for  him. 

In  1850  Mr.  Hopkins  was  not  a  candidate,  and  the  Free 
Soil  ticket  for  representatives  was  David  Joy  and  George 
F.  Wright.  At  the  first  trial  they  failed  of  an  election, 
and  at  another  trial  on  the  "fourth  Monday""  tliey  lacked 


50 

only  two  votes  of  success,  a  majority  vote  being  necessary. 
Tlie  town  was  unrepresented  that  year. 

In  1851  the  Free  Soilers  again  placed  Mr.  Hopkins  in 
nomination,  and  associated  with  him  on  the  ticket  Captain 
Azariah  Clapp.  The  Captain  had  been  a  Democrat  and  was 
considered  an  available  man  to  run  with  Mr.  Hopkins. 
The  result  proved  so.     They  were  both  elected. 

A  week  before  the  election  of  1851  the  Courier  announced 
that  '"We  shall  illuminate  the  Courier  office  on  Monday 
evening  next,  in  honor  of  the  election  of  two  coalition  rep- 
resentatives in  Northampton  on  that  day."  The  election 
came,  the  two  coalition  representatives  were  chosen,  and 
the  Courier  office  was  illuminated  according  to  this  an- 
nouncement. The  election  of  Mr.  Hopkins  and  "  Cap'n 
'Riah'*  was  celebrated  on  election  night  by  a  grand  proces- 
sion, headed  by  the  brass  band,  which  marched  to  the  resi- 
dences of  both  the  successful  candidates,  and  then  drew  up 
in  front  of  the  Courier  office  and  gave  three  cheers  for  the 
Courier  and  its  illumination. 

That  Mr.  Hopkins'  course  in  this  campaign  was  dictated 
solely  by  principle  is  ap])arent  from  the  conditions  of  par- 
ties then  existing.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  his  manhood, 
with  a  promising  future  before  him.  He  stood  well  with 
the  Whig  party,  which  was  the  controlling  power  in  the 
town,  county  and  state.  He  could  have  had  anything  in 
the  line  of  political  promotion  that  he  desired.  All  this 
he  sacrificed.  He  was  an  original  "Conscience  Whig.^' 
There  were  Whigs  whose  consciences  were  quickened  by 
the  anti-slavery  wave  which  was  rising  throughout  the 
North.  These  were  called  "Conscience  Whigs."  Mr. 
Hopkins  was  active  in  this  movement,  and  when  the  break 
came  in  1848  he  was  a  recognized  leader  in  the  enlarged 
anti-slavery  movement.  He  could  not  hope  for  political 
promotion  by  such  action.  The  anti-slavery  men  were  not 
office-seekers.  They  were  weak  in  numbers  and  labored 
only  for  the  advancement  of  a  great  principle.  Mr.  Hop- 
kins was  governed  entirely  by  his  devotion  to  this  princi- 
ple.    He  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  lowly  and  despised.     And 


00 


therein   he   acted   wisely.      His   townsmen  stood   by   him 
with  a  hjyalty  that  was  most  inspiring. 

Better  the  fame  which  he  won  in  this  adhesion  to  a  de- 
spised and  feeble  party,  for  the  sake  of  a  principle  which 
has  become  the  keynote  of  all  liberty-loving  people,  than 
the  offices  and  honors  he  could  have  had  })y  following  the 
larger  and  stronger  element  of  the  Whig  party. 


ERASTUS  HOPKINS. 

The  Free  Soilers  were  a  noble  class  of  men,  strong  in 
intellect  and  of  high  moral  character.  They  did  not  em- 
brace much  of  the  wealthy  class,  but  were  made  up  largely 
of  men  in  middle  life  and  advanced  years  and  moderate 
circumstances.  Among  them  were  (I  rely  only  upon  mem- 
ory),   Erastus   Hopkins,    Cyrus   Noble,    Henry    Shepherd, 


(]1 

Lyman  and  Josiali  Parsons,  President  William  Allen  and 
his  son  the  late  Jndge,  Deacon  John  P.  Williston,  William 
F.  Arnold,  H.  K.  Starkweather  and  his  sons  Charles, 
Haynes  and  Alfred,  William  D.  Clapp,  Oliver  Warner  and 
his  sons  Oliver.  Edward,  Setli  and  John,  Willard  A, 
Arnold,  Deacon  Enos  Clark,  Moses  Breck,  Deacon  Jared 
Clark,  Deacon  Aaron"  Breck,  Aaron  Breck,  Jr.,  Dr.  G.  D. 
Peck,  Austin  Ross,  Samuel  A.  Bottum,  Benjamin  Johnson 
and  his  sons  Benjamin  S.  and  Charles  B.,  Solomon  War- 
ner. A.  P.  Critchlow,  Samuel  L.  Hill,  David  Joy,  Charles 
P.  Huntington,  Webster  Herrick,  D.  Munroe  Clapp,  J.  D. 
Kellogg,  Samuel  Day,  John  W.  Wilson,  Porter  Nutting, 
Hiram  Day,  Abel  Parent,  C.  M.  Kinney,  Edwin  Kingsley, 
Samuel  F.  Lyman,  Curtis  W.  Braman,  John  Bridgman, 
Sylvester  Bi-idgman,  Sidney  E.  Bridgman,  Deacon  Chaun- 
cey  Colton,  William  Tillotson,  Dr.  Horace  Clark,  Major 
William  Parsons,  Jonathan  P.  Strong,  Charles  H.  Dickin- 
son, Dr.  E.  T.  Wood.  Samuel  N.  Wood,  Marcus  Moody,  Ira 
Chilson,  Charles  A.  Dayton,  Rev.  D.  M.  Crane,  Rev. 
William  Tyler,  J.  D.  Kellogg,  Jr.,  Silas  D.  Clark,  William 
Closson,  Willard  Lyon,  S.  D.  Thayer,  Zenas  Field,  Zenas 
Field,  Jr.,  John  Metcalf,  William  Metcalf,  Alonzo  Eustis, 
Elihu  Strong,  Herman  Smith,  Israel  Dickinson,  Lyman 
Metcalf,  Seth  Strong,  Seth  Hunt,  Walter  Pease,  Fred  A. 
Stockwell,  Calvin  Stockwell,  A.  Perry  Peck,  Charles  S. 
Crouch,  Elijah  Kingsley,  Linus  Noble,  Sumner  Clark, 
Joshua  Sibley,  Samuel  Simmons,  Ansel  Wright,  George  F. 
Wright,  Theodore  Rust,  Calvin  Clark,  Capt.  Samuel  Par- 
sons, Samuel  L.  Parsons,  Isaac  S.  Parsons,  Col.  Joseph  B. 
Parsons,  Asa  Wright,  Col.  Edward  Parsons,  Spencer  Par- 
sons, Horace  L.  Kingsley,  Elihu  Clark.  Capt.  Joseph 
Allen,  Capt.  Joseph  Conant,  Amzi  Allen,  Alfred  T.  Lilly, 
Joel  Abercrombie,  Col.  Thomas  Pomeroj^  Ansel  Jewett, 
Daniel  R.  Clark,  Dexter  Clark,  Calvin  Clark,  Enos  Clark, 
Jr.,  Sylvester  Judd,  Col.  Daniel  Willcutt,  George  Willcutt, 
Col.  George  Shepard,  Dea.  William  H.  Stoddard,  Jacob 
Parsons,  Richard  B.  Davis,  George  Davis,  Capt.  Azariah 
Clapp,  Elijah  D.  Clapp,  Merrick  Clapp,  George  Ellsworth, 


Abel  Main,  Moses  Warner,  John  F.  Wainier.  Joseph  War- 
ner, Edwin  W.  Warner,  Dr.  David  Rnggles,  Basil  Dorsey, 
John  R.  Selman,  Josiah  Dickinson,  Luther  Clark,  A.  W. 
Thayer,  Dr.  E.  E.  Denniston,  George  Bennett,  Oliver  A. 
Hubbard,  T.  B.  Hutchins,  Samuel  Phelps,  Moses  Phelps, 
Solomon  Phelps.  Spencer  Phelps.  Dr.  Charles  Walker,  S. 
C.  Parsons,  Dr.  Jared  Bartlett.  J.  D.  Wells,  Charles  Strong. 
Ansel  Abells,  William  R.  Clapp,  Nathan  H.  Felton.  Hophni 
Clapp,  Edwin  Banister. 

Of  the   Whigs   I   recall    these  :  — William    A.    Haw^ley, 
Winthrop  Hillyer.  George  Sergeant,  Enos  Parsons,  Elijah 
Abbott,  Samuel  W.  Lee,  Ebenezer  Hancock,  Henry  Bright, 
Nathan  Dikeman,  Henry  Dikeman,  Daniel  Kingsley,  Henry 
Strong,  Morris  Stj-ong,  William  Strong,  Charles  B.  Kings- 
ley,  George  Wells,  James  Reed.  Cornelius  Delano,  Asahel 
Wood,    J.    Harvey   Searle,    Lyman    Kingsley,    James    R. 
Trumbull.  Theodore  Bartlett,  Judge  C.  A.  Dewey,  Luther 
I.  Washburn,  William  O.  Gorham,  Capt.  Jonathan  Brews- 
ter, Lewis  Parsons,  J.   Smith  Parsons,  Josiah  W.   Smith, 
Ozro  C.  Wright,  Edwin  C.  Clark.  Daniel  W.  Clark,  John 
A.    Clark,   Ebenezer  Strong,  Elisha  Strong,   Asa   Strong, 
George    Strong,    Charles    Edwards.    Alexander   Edwards, 
Ceylon  Moody,    William  F.   Quigley.   Thomas  Musgrave, 
Benjamin  North,  Samuel  Whitmarsh,  Thomas  Whitmarsh. 
Thomas  Pratt,  William  F.  Pratt,  Charles  S.  Pratt.  John  B. 
Graves,  Robert  B.  Graves,  Elisha  Graves.  S.  W.  Hopkins, 
Henry   B.    Graves,    John    W.    Hubbard,    William    Clark^ 
William  Clark,  Jr..  Lucius  Clark,  Charles  Clark.  Sidney 
L.  Clark,  Francis  Clark,  Merritt  Clark,  Henry  Childs,  J. 
H.  Butler,  Major  Harvey  Kirkland.  Samuel  Wells,  Deacon 
James   Hibben,    J.    D.    Whitney,    Dr.    Daniel   Thompson, 
Dr.  James  Thompson,  Charles  E.  Forbes,  Charles  F.  Smith, 
Charles  Smith,  M.  M.  French,  Benjamin  E.  Cook,  Joseph 
Lathrop,  William  F.  Kingsley,  Christopher  Wright,  Chris- 
topher  Clarke,  Augustus   Clarke.   John   Clarke,    Edward 
Clarke,  James  R.  Day,  Miles  Moise,  Col.  Justin  Thayer, 
Horace  Cook,  Justin  Smith,  Samuel  L.  Hinckley.  Dr.  Ben- 
jamin Barrett,  Deacon  Eliphalet  Williams,  David  Damon, 


Capt.  Isaac  Damon.  Dr.  Sylvester  Graliam,  Lewis  Strong, 
Col.  Calvin  Strong,  Jonathan  Strong,  Horace  Lyman,  Silas 
M.  Smith,  Asahel  Abells,  William  H.  Todd.  Edward 
Kingsley,  Ahira  Lyman,  John  H.  Fowle,  Setli  Wright, 
Nathan  Storrs,  Wells  Storrs,  Samuel  Williams,  Phenix 
Williams,  Erastus  Slate,  Luman  Bartlett,  Dr.  S.  B.  Wood- 
ward, Cephas  Strong,  William  E.  Partridge,  George  P. 
Dickinson,  Elijah  Allen,  Solomon  Weller,  Roland  Weller, 
Julius  Phelps.  Amasa  D.  Wade,  Dr.  J.  W.  Smith,  George 
W.  Edwards,  Milo  J.  Smith.  Charles  H.  Smith,  Horace  A. 
Collins,  William  W.  Partridge,  Capt.  Fred  Clark,  George 
Laidley,  David  Laidley.  Alphens  Lyman,  William  Graves, 
Martin  B.  Graves,  Luther  Hamilton,  Lnther  H.  Edwards, 
Horace  I.  Hodges,  Lnke  Lyman,  James  L  West,  James  W. 
Clark,  Milo  L.  Smith,  Lonis  Tribus.  William  C.  Prentiss, 
Benj.  North,  Capt.  Sereno  Kingsley,  James  M.  Bucknam. 

The  Democrats  were  few  in  number  and  had  but  a  few 
leaders  of  prominence,  including  Thomas  Shepherd,  Hiram 
Ferry,  David  B.  Wliitcomb,  H.  H.  Chilson,  Amos  H.  Bul- 
len,  Capt.  Hervey  Smith  and  Samuel  P.  Janes. 

I  look  in  vain  through  these  lists  of  names  for  more  than 
a  handful  of  those  who  are  still  living.  Only  eleven  in 
the  list  of  Free  Soilers  are  alive,  and  only  twelve  of  the 
Whigs.  The  living  Free  Soilers  are  Charles  and  Alfred 
Starkweather,  Hiram  Day,  C.  M.  Kinney,  Sidney  E.  Bridg- 
man,  C.  H.  Dickinson,  J.  D.  Kellogg,  Joshua  Sibley,  Ben- 
jamin Pratt,  and  Isaac  S.  and  Col.  J.  B.  Parsons.  The 
surviving  Whigs  are,  J.  Harvey  Searle,  Charles  S.  Pratt, 
Merritt  Clark,  William  H.  Todd,  Christopher  Clarke,  Rob- 
ert B.  Graves,  William  F.  Kingsley,  Edward  Kingsley, 
Stephen  W.  Hopkins,  David  Laidley,  Luther  H.  Edwards, 
and  William  E.  Partridge. 

ELECTION    OF    WELLS  AND    BREWSTER  AS    INDEPENDENTS 

IN  1850. 

Another  notable  political  contest  in  which  the  Courier 
took  a  leading  part,  occurred  in  185(J.  This  was  the  first 
year  of  the  Republican  party.     The  Know  Nothing  party 


had  been  in  power  three  years.  When  tlie  Republican 
county  convention  met  to  nominate  county  officers,  there 
had  been  no  pre-arrangement  for  it.  It  was  not  the  custom 
in  those  days  to  fix  up  the  local  nominations  in  advance,  as 
is  done  now.  Samuel  Wells  was  clerk  of  the  courts  and 
Elisha  H.  Brewster  was  the  outgoing-  county  commissioner. 
To  the  surprise  of  everyone,  these  men  were  not  renomi- 
nated. Their  defeat  was  attributed  to  a  conspiracy,  in 
which  the  fag-ends  of  the  defunct  Know  Nothing  party 
played  an  important  part.  James  W.  Boyden  of  Amherst 
was  the  nominee  for  clerk  of  courts,  and  Charles  S.  Ferry 
of  Granby  was  nominated  for  county  commissioner. 

Squire  Wells  felt  badly  over  his  defeat.  He  had  done 
nothing  to  influence  the  convention,  neither  had  Mr. 
Brewster.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction,  more 
especially  on  account  of  Mr.  Wells,  as  he  was  well  along 
in  years  and  without  other  means  of  support.  The  next 
issue  of  the  Courier  came  out  with  a  blazing  article,  de- 
nouncing the  action  of  the  convention  and  calling  upon 
the  people  to  revolt.  There  was  an  immediate  response 
from  all  over  the  county.  The  revolt  spread  like  wildfire. 
Cornelius  Delano  took  an  active  part  in  canvassing  the 
county  for  the  independent  ticket.  He  was  an  old  politi- 
cian and  an  experienced  political  worker.  He  went  to 
every  town  and  was  accompanied  by  Jonathan  L.  Wells, 
his  son-in-law.  The  result  was  that  the  independent  ticket 
was  elected.  Mr.  Wells's  majority  was  527,  and  Mr. 
Brewster's  277. 

This  was  about  the  first  revolt  from  the  regular  party 
action  that  occurred  in  the  county.  A  regular  nomination 
had  been  considered  equivalent  to  an  election,  and  a  bolter 
was  held  to  be  a  traitor  and  lost  standing  with  his  party. 
Mr.  Brewster  did  not  enter  into  this  revolt  with  much 
heartiness.  He  felt  the  force  of  the  position  taken  by  the 
regulars,  and  being  then  a  young  man  with  some  ambition 
he  hesitated  about  running  as  an  independent.  He  was  so 
far  influenced  by  that  reasoning  that  he  published  a  brief 
letter  in  both  the  Gazette  and  the  Courier  of  the  week  pre- 


65 

ceding  the  election,  stating-  that  lie  was  "'  not  a  candidate.'* 
But  it  was  too  late.  The  tickets  had  been  printed  and 
distributed,  all  bearing  his  name,  and  he  was  elected  in 
spite  of  his  declination. 

It  was  a  fortunate  result  for  the  county,  as  Mr.  Brewster 
proved  to  be  one  of  the  best  commissioners  the  county  ever 
had.  After  that  he  had  no  opposition  in  his  party  during 
the  eighteen  years  of  his  service  in  that  office. 

The  Gazette  took  no  part  in  this  independent  movement. 
It  gave  the  independent  ticket  no  ojDen  support,  and  nomi- 
nally supported  the  regular  nominees,  though  doubtless 
wishing  the  bolters  success.  The  paper  was  then,  as  it 
always  had  been  under  Editor  Hawley,  a  strict  party  organ. 
It  played  but  one  tune,  and  that  was  to  support  the  party 
nominations,  whatever  they  might  be.  The  Courier  was 
the  independent  pa]jer  of  the  period,  and  it  led  the  pro- 
cession in  all  the  independent  political  movements  of  the 
times. 

SPIRITED   CONTEST   FOR   REGISTER   OF   PROBATE   IN    1858. 

In  ]  858  there  was  a  spirited  contest  for  register  of  pro- 
bate. There  had  been  a  court  of  insolvency  separate  from 
the  court  of  jjrobate,  of  which  Luke  Lyman  was  register. 
A.  P.  Peck  was  the  register  of  the  probate  court.  The 
legislature  consolidated  the  two  courts,  and  both  of  these 
registers  contested  for  the  election.  The  contest  was  lively. 
In  the  Republican  county  convention  Lyman  won  the  nom- 
ination, receiving  thirty-five  votes,  and  Peck  thirty.  The 
contest  was  then  carried  to  the  people,  with  the  result  that 
Lyman  was  successful  by  a  majority  of  109,  after  both 
parties  had  scoured  the  county.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  General  Lyman's  long  career  as  a  county  official.  He 
proved  to  be  an  excellent  public  officer  and  wielded  great 
political  influence  in  town  and  county. 

Gen.  Lyman  owed  his  election  to  the  support  which  the 
Gazette  gave  him.  The  Gazette  and  the  Courier  were 
united  at  that  time  and  one  of  the  editors  was  then  nomi- 

5 


60 

nated  and  elected  county  treasurer.  A  combination  was 
formed,  by  which  Mr.  Lyman  profited.  The  papers  were 
not  united  until  Nov.  1,  but  the  union  was  planned  early 
in  October,  just  in  time  to  influence  the  county  convention 
and  to  control  the  election. 

THE    WAR   ON    MAJOR    HARVEY    KIRKLAND. 

Perhaps  the  most  bitter  political  contest  ever  known  in 
Hampshire  county  was  that  which  centered  upon  Major 
Harvey  Kirkland.  It  was  a  long-fought  struggle,  and  cov- 
ered many  years.  Major  Kirkland  came  here  from  Nor- 
wich (now  Huntington)  and  first  engaged  as  clerk  in  the 
register  of  deeds"  ofiice  under  Giles  C.  Kellogg.  He  was  a 
very  competent  man  from  the  first,  and  a  most  excellent 
penman.  He  was  remarkably  accurate  and  painstaking  in 
everything  that  he  did,  which  was  appreciated  by  tlie  peo- 
ple of  the  county.  In  184G  he  was  elected  register  of  deeds, 
succeeding  Mr.  Kellogg,  who  had  held  the  office  thirteen 
years.  For  some  reason  trouble  arose  between  him  and 
William  Clark,  a  citizen  of  high  standing  in  the  commu- 
nity and  a  man  of  strong  will  and  great  determination. 
Mr.  Clark  declared  war  on  the  Major,  and  every  three 
years,  when  he  came  up  for  re-election,  there  was  a  battle 
royal.  Major  Kirkland  also  held  the  office  of  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  Hampshire  Mutual  fire  insurance  com- 
pany, and  the  war  followed  him  there.  The  county  was 
scoured  for  delegates  to  the  county  convention  every  third 
year,  and  for  proxies  in  the  insurance  company  every  year. 
In  1861  the  contest  was  so  fierce  that  the  court  room  had 
to  be  opened  to  accommodate  the  crowd  of  policy-holders 
that  attended  the  insurance  meeting.  Major  Kirkland's 
case  was  managed  at  the  meeting  by  Charles  Delano,  and 
Mr,  Clark  brought  up  William  G.  Bates  from  Westfield  to 
lead  the  opposition.  The  Major  came  off  victorious  and 
with  flying  colors,  as  he  had  in  all  previous  contests  in  the 
insurance  company  and  in  the  county  conventions.  He 
was  a  good  political  manager  and  made  ample  preparation 


for  any  einoi'o-oncy.  Witli  all  his  excellent  qualities  as  ail 
official  lie  bad  one  weakness.  He  could  not  bear  opposition 
and  was  overbearing  in  manner,  so  much  so  that  he  made 
enemies  in  every  contest.  His  enemies  were  strong  and 
bitter  and  their  number  kept  growing  from  year  to  year. 
But  the  Major  was  able  to  "  down  them"  at  every  contest, 
until  at  the  end  he  met  liis  Waterloo. 

In  1861  the  Republican  county  convention  failed  to  nom- 
inate Major  Kirkland  for  re-election.  Mr.  Clark  and  his 
boys,  William  and  Lucius,  had  worked  up  their  case  so 
well  that  the  Major  was  thrown  overboard.  H.  K.  Stark- 
weather was  nominated  in  his  stead,  by  a  vote  in  the  con- 
vention of  32  to  36.  But  the  Major  was  not  disheartened. 
He  appealed  to  the  people  of  the  county,  and  they  gave 
him  a  majority  of  1241  votes  at  the  j)olls,  the  vote  standing, 
Kirkland  2308,  Starkweather  1157. 

This  overwhelming  victory  emboldened  Major  Kirkland 
and  he  bore  down  upon  his  enemies  more  roughly  than 
ever.  This,  of  course,  only  increased  their  strength.  It 
made  new  enemies  and  embittered  old  ones,  and  the  day  of 
final  reckoning  came.  In  the  county  convention  of  1870, 
tlie  Major  was  defeated,  and  Henry  P.  Billings  was  nomi- 
nated. The  vote  in  convention  was  :  Billings  35,  Kirkland 
28.  The  Major  again  appealed  to  the  people  as  an  independ- 
ent candidate,  but  the  tide  was  against  him  from  the 
start.  The  vote  in  the  county  stood  :  Billings  2947,  Kirk- 
land 1747.  Mr.  Billings  was  a  young  man  of,  unexceptional 
character  and  manners,  and  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  and 
he  proved  too  strong  a  candidate  for  the  Major  to  over- 
come. 

Major  Kirkland  accepted  his  defeat  with  as  much  grace 
as  x>ossible,  but  he  never  forgave  his  enemies  nor  failed  to 
remember  his  friends.  He  could  not  understand  why  he 
should  be  defeated,  but  tlie  public  easily  detected  the  rea- 
son. If  he  had  pursued  a  more  conciliatory  policj^  he  could 
have  defied  his  enemies  and  held  his  office  as  long  as  he 
pleased,  for  no  one  ever  found  any  fault  with  his  discharge 
of  its  duties.     His  records  are  models  of  neatness,  accuracy 


G8 

and  legibility,  and  will  stand  an  imperishable  testimony  to 
his  faithfulness  and  ability.  There  never  was  a  dishonest 
or  mean  act  ever  traced  to  him.  He  managed  large  affairs 
and  proved  true  to  every  trust  reposed  in  him.  He  had 
strong  and  influential  supporters.  Among  them  were  J. 
H.  Butler,  General  Cook,  Osmyn  Baker,  Charles  Delano. 
Judge  Forbes  and  J.  P.  Williston  of  Northampton,  Ed- 
ward Dickinson  and  Ithamar  F.  Conkey  of  Amherst,  Otis 
Lane  and  William  Hyde  of  Ware,  Elisha  H.  Brewster  of 
Worthington,  Col.  Elisha  Edwards  and  Luther  Edwards 
of  Southampton,  Samuel  Williston  of  Easthampton.  and 
George  W.  Hubbard  of  Hatfield. 

H.    G.    KNIGHT    OF    EASTHAMPTON    CHOSEN    COUNCILLOR    AS 
AN   INDEPENDENT    CANDIDATE. 

An  independent  movement  that  created  widespread  inter- 
est occurred  in  18G7,  and  resulted  in  the  election  of  Hon. 
Horatio  G.  Knight  of  Easthampton  to  the  Governor's 
Council.  The  Republican  nomination  that  year  belonged 
by  the  usual  custom  of  rotation  to  Hampshire,  and  the 
choice  of  the  county  fell  upon  Mr.  Knight.  The  conven- 
tion was  held  at  Chester,  out-doors,  in  front  of  the  town 
hall.  Sylvander  Johnson  of  North  Adams  contested  for 
the  prize  and  he  was  successful  by  a  bare  majorit5\  The 
nomination  so  clearly  belonged  to  Hampshii-e  that  the 
Hampshire  delegates  were  not  only  disappointed,  but 
greatly  angered.  It  was  decided  that  Mr.  Knight  should 
run  as  an  independent  candidate.  The  contest  was  a  lively 
one  and  the  district  was  well  worked  by  Mr.  Knight's 
friends,  especially  the  counties  of  Hampshire  and  Hamp- 
den. The  vote  was  close.  On  the  morning  after  election 
the  Springfield  Republican,  with  incomplete  returns,  an- 
nounced that  Mr.  Johnson  was  probably  elected,  but  the 
later  returns,  being  from  towns  in  Western  Hampshire, 
where  Mr.  Knight  was  very  strong,  gave  him  the  election 
by  a  majority  of  283.  Mr.  Knight  received  every  vote  but 
one  of  the  317  votes  cast  in  Easthampton,  all  but  four  of 
the  1042  votes  in  Northampton,  and  every  vote  in  Cum- 


\ 


\ 


CO 

miiigtoii.  Clu'sterfield.  Goshoii,  Plaintield.  Middlefield,  Pel- 
liciin,  Southampton,  Worthington  and  Westliamj)ton.  Tlie 
vote  in  Ham])sliire  county  was,  Kniglit  ■4,248,  Johnson  995. 
Mr.  Jolmson  accepted  his  defeat  gracefully,  supported  Mr. 
Knight  cordially  for  re-election,  and  was  himself  elected  as 
Mr,  Knight's  successor.  Since  then  the  councillor  district 
has  paid  due  respect  to  the  claims  of  Hampshire. 

DAVID   B.    WHITCOMB,    OLD-LINE   DEMOCRAT. 

No  sketch  of  these  eventful  political  times  of  half  a  cen- 
tury ago  would  be  complete  without  mention  of  David 
B.  Whitcomb,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  local  Democracy. 
He  was  a  Democrat  of  Democrats,  with  a  will-power  rival- 
ing that  of  Andrew  Jackson.  It  was  never  necessary  to  in- 
quire where  he  stood  in  any  political  contest.  He  was 
always  in  the  same  position,  with  his  eyes  on  the  Demo- 
cratic flag  and  his  shoulder  to  the  Democratic  wheel.  No 
matter  what  came,  victory  or  defeat,  storm  or  calm-,  the 
balmy  breeze  or  the  whirlwind,  he  was  at  the  front,  ready 
to  continue  the  fight  for  the  Democratic  cause.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  unyielding  of  men.  He  maintained  his 
position,  not  only  with  firmness,  but  with,  to  him,  convinc- 
ing argument.  There  were  two  other  men  in  town,  of  sim- 
ilar zeal,  but  of  less  argumentative  power — Elijah  Abbott, 
painter,  and  Samuel  W.  Lee,  tinner,  both  as  firmly 
Whig  as  Whitcomb  was  Democratic.  Often  these  men 
would  meet  in  the  street  and  discuss  political  matters. 
They  would  get  so  excited  and  talk  so  loud  as  to  attract 
general  attention.  Though  they  argued  long  and  loud, 
they  never  made  any  impression  upon  each  other,  except 
to  confirm  each  in  his  previously  formed  opinion.  Mr. 
Whitcomb,  though  he  hated  the  Whigs  and  was  glad  to 
see  them  overthrown  here  in  their  stronghold,  never 
yielded  to  the  Free  Soil  movement  nor  voted  for  its  candi- 
dates, and  lived  and  died  firm  in  the  faith  of  the  Demo- 
cratic gospel,  as  it  came  down  to  him  from  Jefferson  and 
Jackson.  His  sons,  Waldo,  David  and  Parker,  are  chips 
of  the  old  block. 


CORNER   MAIN    AND   KING   STREETS. 

This  picture  represents  the  south-easterly  coi-iier  of  Main 
and  King  streets,  where  the  First  National  Bank  bnihling 
now  stands,  as  it  appeared  in  1855.  The  large  building  on 
the  right  is  now  a  tenement  house,  standing  in  the  rear  of 
the  Smith  Charities  building.  It  was  moved  away  in  1804. 
It  was  occupied  in  part  in  1855  by  Ebenezer  Hancock,  sad- 
dler, who  kept  his  shop  there  all  the  time  he  was  in  busi- 
ness here,  nearly  forty  years.  In  the  northerly  side  of  this 
Imilding  the  Misses  S.  &  C.  Osborn  had  their  millinery 
shop  for  thirty-two  years  previous  to  1851.  Tiie  sign, 
''  Bonnets  and  Ribbons,"  is  seen  in  large  letters  painted  on 
the  building  above  the  second  story.  At  the  time  of  taking 
this  picture  this  part  of  the  building  was  occupied  by  Pat- 
terson &  Eustis,  harness-makers. 

The  smaller  building,  to  the  left,  was  occupied  in  part  by 
Lee  &  Porter,  stove-dealers.  Here  Samuel  W.  Lee  was  in 
business  about  forty  years,  retiring  in  1858.  The  white 
horse  seen  in  this  picture,  in  front  of  the  three-story  build- 
ing, was  Mr.  Lee's,  and  the  veteran  tinner  himself  was  sit- 

7  0 


71 

tiiii;-  in  tlie  wag-on.  Wallace  A.  Hubbard,  another  liaiiiess- 
maker,  and  a  musician  of  some  note,  had  liis  shoj)  in  the 
northerly  end.  This  building-  also  "was  moved  to  the  rear, 
when  the  bank  building  was  erected,  and  converted  into  a 
tenement.  The  two  old  wooden  buildings  were  sold  by 
Osmyn  Baker  to  Charles  S.  Crouch,  who  moved  them  off 
and  fitted  them  up  for  tenements  in  18G4. 

The  white  building  on  the  extreme  left  was  the  house  of 
T.  B.  Hutchins.  He  lived  there  and  kept  a  small  restau- 
rant and  ice-cream  saloon.  In  the  warm  season  this  was  a 
famous  resort  for  lovers  of  ice-cream.  Dr.  Roberts'  l)rick 
house  now  stands  on  the  site  of  this  old  white  house. 

The  laj-ge  elm  tree  seen  on  the  left  was  one  of  two  trees 
set  near  together  by  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt  and  his  son 
Seth,  about  1750. 

The  land  covering  this  corner,  from  Dr.  Roberts'  line  on 
King  street  to  Main  street  and  down  to  the  Connecticut 
River  railroad,  including-  the  Polly  Pomeroy  place  on  Main 
street,  was  bought  in  1864  by  Osmyn  Baker,  and  the  bank 
building  aivl  Smith  Charities  building  were  erected  there 
a  few  5' ears  afterward.  Mr.  Baker  was  then  trustee  and 
treasurer  of  the  Smith  Charities.  The  purchase  was  made 
of  John  and  Hannah  Tappan  of  Boston,  and  the  price  paid 
was  $15,500. 

This  King  street  corner  has  always  been  a  noted  place 
for  business  purposes,  and  more  than  one  hundred  years 
ago  Robert  Breck  and  Seth  Wright  were  quite  large  traders 
there.  Robert  Breck  was  the  first  postmaster  of  the  town, 
and  kept  the  post-oflfice  at  his  store  on  this  corner. 

The  small  panes  of  glass  seen  in  the  three-story  building 
give  a  good  idea  of  the  prevailing  style  of  windows  in  the 
years  1800  to  1850. 


The   picture  of   Mr.   Hopkins,  shown    on    i»age    <iO,    was 
taken  in  18G9,  about  three  years  befoi-e  his  decease. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

NOTES  ON  VARIOUS  MATTERS  —  NEW  BUILDINGS  —  STAGE  COACHES— MAIN 
STREET  PARK — BELL  RINGING— BEAUTIFYING  THE  TOWN — FEW  CON- 
STABLES— THE  TOWERING  ELMS — GREAT  MEN  OF  KING  STREET  —  OLD 
DOCTORS  —  INDEPENDENT  POST  SYSTEM  —  CATTLE  SHOWS  —  PLOWING 
MATCHES— GROWTH  OF  THE  TOWN  —  SCHOOLS  —  FLOGGING  BOYS  — 
PECULIAR  CHARACTERS— BAITING  COWS   IN   THE  STREETS. 

Thiuk  ua\ight  a  triHe.  though  it  small  appear: 
Small  sands  the  mountain,  moments  make  the  year. 
And  trifles  life. 

—  Young. 

My  recollections  of  the  town  have  ever  been  most  pleas- 
ing. I  have  known  all  its  people,  and  had  agreeable  asso- 
ciations with  most  of  them.  Probably  no  man  who  ever 
lived  in  the  town  has  written  so  much  about  its  people, 
and  especially  about  its  prominent  men.  as  the  writer  of 
these  sketches.  For  fifty-seven  years  he  has  been  in  and 
out  with  them.  He  has  written  of  them  living,  and  writ- 
ten of  them  dead.  They  were  men  of  stalwart  character, 
good  and  true.  They  gave  the  town  its  good  name  and  its 
enviable  distinction,  and  are  worthy  of  being  spoken  of 
with  respect  and  admiration. 

ONLY  THREE  FOREIGN  VOTERS. 

Great  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  character  of  the 
people  of  the  town  during  my  residence  here.  When  I 
came  here  the  foreign  population  was  very  small.  Michael 
Williams,  Patrick  Hayes  and  a  man  who  worked  on  Round 
Hill  comprised  about  all  the  foreign-born  voters  in  town. 
The  rest  were  of  the  old  original  Yankee  stock,  strong, 
vigorous,  able,  influential. 

13 


73 

THE  CENTER  NEARLY  ALL  BUILT  ANEW. 

T  liave  seen,  with  half  a  dozen  exceptions,  every  buiklin^ 
in  the  center  of  tlie  town,  from  the  college  to  the  railroad 
crossing,  either  remodeled  or  entirely  rehnilt.  The  Baptist 
cliurcli  and  the  Unitarian  church  still  remain  much  as  they 
were,  though  each  has  received  some  additions,  the  former 
an  improved  tower,  and  the  latter  an  extension  in  the  rear. 
The  George  Bennett  house  next  west  of  the  Baptist  church, 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  Dr.  Higbee,  is  there  yet,  and 
the  canal  storehouse,  now  Warren's  livery  stable,  is  still 
there  :  also  the  Prindle  house  and  the  Holley  house  and 
livery  stable.  The  last  two  have  changed  least  of  all.  All 
else  has  been  built  new  or  reconstructed  so  as  to  entirely 
change  their  outward  appearance.  Every  building  on 
Shop  Row  has  been  changed,  so  that,  with  a  single  excep- 
tion, nothing  remains  of  its  former  appearance.  This 
exception  is  the  granite  front  block  occupied  by  the  Butler 
bookstore  and  the  Cook  jewelry  store.  That  remains  as  it 
was  built  in  its  front,  in  1828,  excepting  that  its  front  win- 
dows have  changed  and  the  front  roof  raised  and  pitched 
to  the  rear. 

COMING    OF    THE    RAILROAD. 

Nothing  has  been  so  marked  in  the  ever-changing  char- 
acter of  the  town  as  its  means  of  transportation.  The 
canal  had  come  and  gone,  and  then  came  the  day  of  the 
steam  railroad.  The  first  passenger  train  from  Springfield 
came  to  Northampton  in  December,  1845.  I  remember  it 
well,  as  I  was  at  the  depot  to  assist  in  giving  it  welcome. 
There  was  quite  a  collection  of  people  there,  and  a  consid- 
erable number  of  Northampton  men  were  on  the  train. 
The  train  stopped  just  below  the  south  end  of  the  depot, 
and  Augustus  Clarke,  one  of  those  on  board  the  train, 
jumped  off  and  called  for  three  cheers  for  the  new  railroad, 
which  were  given  with  great  emphasis. 

The  construction  of  the  railroad  to  Springfield  was  a 
great  thing   for  Northampton.     It  was  labored  for  most 


/ 


:4 

earnestly  by  the  leading  men  of  tlie  town,  who  figured  that 
it  would  be  a  good  investment,  but  it  has  far  surpassed  all 
their  expectations.  The  stock  in  its  early  years  sold  as  low 
as  $50  a  share,  and  now  is  scarce  at  $280. 

THE   OLD   STAGE   COACHES. 

The  times  of  which  we  write  were  the  harvest  days  of 
the  stage-coaching  business.  Lines  of  stages  ran  from 
Northampton  in  every  direction,  to  Boston  on  the  east,  to 
Albany  on  the  west,  to  Hartford  and  New  York  on  the 
south,  to  Brattleboro  and  Dartmouth  on  the  north.  North- 
ampton was  a  great  stage-coach  center.  It  had  taverns 
equal  to  the  demand.  There  were  the  Warner  House,  the 
Mansion  House,  the  American  House,  the  Nonotuck  House, 
and  the  Curtis  tavern,  in  the  center,  and  "Paul  Strong's" 
and  ''  Sol  Warner's  "  on  the  road  to  Williamsburg.  Some  of 
the  owners  and  managers  of  these  lines  were  Cornelius 
Delano  and  Asahel  Wood  of  Northampton,  James  H.  Clapp 
of  Belchertown,  and  Chester  W.  Chapin  of  Springfield. 
The  large  barn  on  River  street  was  built  and  used  for  the 
staging  business,  also  the  HoUey  barn  on  Main  street.  The 
arrival  and  departure  of  the  stages  was  the  principal  feat- 
ure of  the  day,  and  the  music  of  the  bugle  announcing 
the  coming  of  the  stage-coach  was  ever  a  pleasing  sound  to 
the  village  dwellers. 

THE    PARK    IN    THE    CENTER    OF    MAIN    STREET. 

In  the  center  of  Main  street,  opposite  the  Butler  book- 
store, there  was  a  small  park,  oval  in  shape,  on  which  were 
a  number  of  maple  and  elm  trees,  affording  grateful  shade 
and  beauty.  The  park  was  enclosed  with  a  low  wooden 
railing,  and  in  the  center  was  a  fine  liberty  pole,  from 
which  the  national  Hag  floated  on  great  occasions.  The 
park  was  about  one  hundred  feet  in  length.  As  the  town 
grew  in  population  more  room  for  public  travel  was  needed, 
and  this  park,  the  pride  of  the  merchants  on  Shop  Row, 
who  made  it  from  earth  brought  from  the  Governor  Strong 


lot  wlieu  the  Connectknit  River  raHroad  was  built,  was 
removed  by  tlie  selectmen.  It  grieved  the  liearts  of  the 
merchants  to  see  it  go,  and  Marvin  French  and  others  on 
the  "Row"  begged  the  authorities  to  spare  even  one  tree. 
But  they  refused,  and  this  beauty  spot  of  the  center  disap- 
peared. 

BELL   RINGING    AT    NOON    AND    NINE    o'CLOCK    AT    NIGHT. 

One  feature  of  the  times  of  half  a  century  ago,  wiiicli 
has  gone  with  the  passing  years,  was  the  ringing  of  the  old 
church  bell  at  noon  and  at  nine  o'clock  at  night.  This  cus- 
tom, so  dear  to  the  old  people,  who  heard  its  familiar  sound 
at  those  hours  in  their  youth,  was  kept  up  here  until  about 
thirty  years  ago,  when  tlie  town  fathers,  without  authority 
from  the  town,  discontinued  it.  In  the  early  times  it  was 
of  special  value  to  the  many  toilers  in  the  meadows,  in 
notifying  them  of  the  noon  hour ;  but  it  was  of  little  use 
in  these  times  of  numerous  clocks  and  watches  and  passing 
railroad  trains  at  I'egular  hours,  but  there  were  some  who 
regretted  its  discontinuance.  There  are  things  that  have  a 
value  because  of  their,  antiquity,  like  an  ancient  clock  or 
an  old  piece  of  furniture,  and  this  old  bell-ringing  custom 
was  one  of  this  class. 

BEAUTIFYING    THE    TOWN. 

The  old  residents  of  fifty  to  sixty  years  ago  paid  much 
attention  to  beautifying  the  town.  Capt.  Isaac  Damon  was 
prominent  in  this  work.  He  was  the  master  carpenter  who 
built  the  old  church  in  1810-12.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
public-spirited  men  in  the  town  and  took  great  pride  in 
improving  and  beautifying  its  appearance.  Capt.  Jonathan 
Brewster,  keeper  of  the  old  Mansion- House,  near  the  col- 
lege, also  did  much  in  this  direction.  The  citizens  generally 
were  proud  of  the  town.  They  set  numerous  shade  trees 
along  the  streets,  and  these,  with  the  general  rural  aspect 
that  everywhere  prevailed,  with  its  fine  old-fashioned  resi- 
dences and  the  charming  scenery,  gave  the  town  a  distinc- 
tion for  beauty  that  was  widely  recognized. 


76 


FEW    CONSTABLES    IN    OLD    TIMES. 

The  change  in  the  policing  of  the  town  has  been  marked. 
Up  to  about  twenty-five  years  ago  there  was  no  patroling 
of  tlie  streets  by  policemen,  day  or  night.  For  a  long 
series  of  years  Ansel  Wright  and  his  sons,  George  and 
Ansel,  Jr.,  were  the  principal  constables  of  the  town.  They 
were  also  deputy  sheriffs.  They  were  on  duty  only  when 
called  upon.  There  was  less  disorder  then  than  now. 
With  the  increase  of  population  came  more  restless  ele- 
ments, and  patrolmen  became  necessary.  The  fact  that  in 
the  Tiearly  ten  years  that  I  published  the  Courier,  previous 
to  1858,  the  office  door  was  never  locked,  though  it  fronted 
on  the  principal  street  of  the  town,  and  nothing  was  ever 
disturbed,  shows  the  feeling  of  security  that  prevailed  here. 
William  F.  Kingsley  of  Pleasant  street,  now  about  seventy- 
five  years  old,  relates  that  in  his  early  years  it  was  not  cus- 
tomary for  people  here  to  lock  their  houses  at  night. 

THE    TOWERING    ELMS. 

One  of  the  delightful  features  of  the  center  of  North- 
ampton in  its  more  rural  years  were  the  large  elm  trees 
wdiich  lined  the  streets  in  the  business  section.  There  was 
a  row  of  splendid  old  elms  the  whole  length  of  Shop  Row, 
from  the  Hunt  house  to  Pleasant  street.  These  trees 
afforded  a  grateful  shade  and  added  beauty  to  the  street. 
The  largest  and  handsomest  of  these  trees  stood  in  front  of 
the  west  corner  of  Merritt  Clark's  store.  It  was  a  real 
beauty,  more  than  four  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and 
tall,  stately,  and  well  spread  in  its  branches.  There  were, 
also,  large  elms  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  one  in 
front  of  the  Warner  House,  and  one  in  front  of  the  Lyman 
block.  There  were,  also,  large  elms  on  either  side  of  Main 
street  as  far  down  as  the  railroad  crossing.  In  the  fork  of 
the  highway  at  the  junction  of  Main  and  King  streets, 
there  were  two  very  large  elms,  standing  twenty-five  to 
thirty  feet  apart,  and  between  them  were  the  hay-scales  for 
public  use.     These  trees  have  all  disappeared.     One  after 


tt 


another  thej^  have  fallen  before  the  destroyer.  It  grieved 
the  old  residents  to  see  them  go,  but  tliere  was  no  help 
for  it. 

(iREAT    MEN    OF   KING    STREET. 

King  street,  in  18-45,  could  boast  of  many  notable  i-esi- 
dents.  On  the  easterly  side,  beginning  near  Main  street, 
were  the  homes  of  T.  B.  Hutchins.  Deacon  John  P.  Willis- 
ton,  Samuel  Wells,  clerk  of  courts,  Dr.  G.  D.  Peck,  Deacon- 
James  Hibben,  President  William  Allen.  Col.  George 
Shepard,  Dr.  Charles  Walker,  Erastus  Hopkins,  Cashier 
Josiali  D.  Whitney,  Deacon  Aaron  Breck,  Dr.  Charles 
Seeger.  and  Deacon  Eliphalet  Williams,  president  of  the 
Northampton  bank,  all  men  of  distinction  and  prominent 
in  the  affairs  of  the  town.  This  was  perhaps  the  most 
aristocratic  residence  part  of  the  town. 

TAVERN-KEEPERS    WERE    INFLUENTIAL    MEN. 

Sixty  years  ago  the  tavern  was  the  center  of  much  of  the 
active  life  of  the  town.  There,  in  the  "bar-room,"  men 
gathered  to  discuss  the  questions  of  the  times.  There  they 
gathered  also  to  learn  the  news.  It  was  Judge  Lyman's 
habit,  when  the  stage  came  in  from  Boston  at  night,  to 
repair  to  Warner's  tavern  to  learn  the  news.  The  stage- 
driver  acted  as  a  sort  of  news-gatherer  and  news-distribu- 
tor. The  '"bar-room"  was  usually  well  filled  at  night  with 
travelers  and  townspeople.  The  tavern-keeper  thus  be- 
came an  important  factor  in  local  affairs.  He  was  gen- 
erally a  man  of  capacity  in  shaping  the  political  affairs  of 
town  and  county.  Oliver  Warner,  the  keeper  of  the  War- 
ner House,  was  a  man  of  large  influence  in  public  matters, 
as  was  his  predecessor,  Asahel  Pomeroy. 

THE    OLD    DOCTORS. 

The  leading  physicians  of  the  town  were  the  two  Thomp- 
sons, "Dr.  Daniel ''  and  "Dr.  Jim."'     Later  came  another 


Thompson.  "  Dr.  Austin."  Tliere  were  other  physicians 
here,  like  Dr.  Benjamin  Barrett,  Dr.  G.  D.  Peck,  and  later, 
Dr.  James  Dunla]).  Dr.  Barrett  had  retired  from  active 
practice  about  1845.  The  Thompsons  had  their  office  over 
Hillyer's  drug-store  and  all  their  prescriptions  were  put  up 
at  that  store.  They  came  to  their  office  in  the  morning, 
usually  with  horse  and  carriage,  and  after  an  hour  or  two 
spent  there  started  out  on  their  daily  circuit  to  visit  their 
patients.  Dr.  Daniel's  old  white  bobtailed  horse,  a  faithful 
animal,  which  he  drove  many  years,  became  a  familiar  fig- 
ure to  the  people  of  the  town  from  long  service  in  his  share 
of  medical  practice. 

AN  INDEPENDENT  POST  SYSTEM. 

An  independent  post  service  was  started  here  in  1844 
with  A.  W.  Thayer  as  agent,  office  on  Shop  Row,  about 
where  John  E.  Riley's  store  is  now.  It  advertised  to  send 
letters  to  Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  had  agen- 
cies in  Amherst,  Deerfield  and  Greenfield,  and  tried  to  com- 
pete with  the  national  government  in  the  post  office  busi- 
ness. The  government  shut  down  on  it  after  a  short  trial 
audits  agencies  were  closed.  Mr.  Thayer  considered  this 
a  gross  infringement  upon  individual  rights  and  made  vig- 
orous protest  against  the  alleged  usurpation. 

OLD    TIME    CATTLE    SHOWS. 

The  cattle  shows  in  the  forties  and  fifties  were  conducted 
in  quite  a  different  manner  from  what  they  are  now.  The 
show- grounds  were  in  the  center  street,  stretching  from  the 
easterly  corner  of  King  street  to  the  old  church.  The  en- 
trance to  King  street  was  much  wider  then  tlian  it  is  now. 
The  roadway  swung  around  on  each  side,  cutting  ofi:  each 
corner,  so  that  quite  a  strip  of  land  that  is  now  inclosed  in 
the  court  house  park  was  used  for  highway,  and  the  same 
on  the  opposite  corner,  where  the  First  National  bank 
building  stands.  The  cattle  were  stretched  along  Main 
street,  and  up  against  the  stone  wall  that  extended  out  in 


to 


front  of  the  old  town  ball  were  the  oyster  tents.  There 
Capt.  Samuel  P.  Janes,  a  noted  Democratic  leader,  had  his 
oyster  tent  as  regularly  as  cattle-show  came  around.  ( )ver 
the  doorway  to  his  tent  was  his  familiar  sign,  "•  S.  P.  Janes, 
Old  Line."  When  customers  were  few  lie  would  come  out 
of  his  tent,  with  his  long  apron  on,  shout  the  virtues  of  his 
oysters,  call  upon  the  hungry  to  come  in,  and  then,  with  a 
long  ladle,  stir  up  the  few  oysters  that  were  in  his  stew- 
kettle,  greatly  to  the  entertainment  of  the  on-looking  crowd 
of  hoys. 

THE    PLOWING    MATCHES. 

In  those  days  the  cattle  show  was  not  complete  without 
a  plowing  match.  These  were  well  contested,  as  skillful 
plowing  was  then  quite  fashionable.  There  were  many 
entries  in  this  department,  one  year  as  many  as  twenty  are 
recorded.  The  contests  took  place  on  the  meadows,  along 
the  road  to  Hockanum.  One  of  the  champion  contestants 
was  Joseph  B.  Parsons,  now  known  all  over  Massachusetts 
as  "Colonel  Joe,"  the  state  pension  agent.  The  Colonel, 
then  an  ambitious  lad  of  sixteen  years,  took  the  first  pre- 
mium in  1844,  and  in  1855  again  was  awarded  the  first  pre- 
miuui  of  $7.  He  was  a  competitor  in  these  plowing 
matches  five  years  and  took  a  premium  eacli  year.  His 
skill  attracted  the  attention  of  Solon  Robinson,  the  orator 
of  the  day  on  one  occasion,  who  complimented  him  in  his 
address  on  his  skill  in  handling  the  plow. 

Oxen  were  to  a  considerable  extent  still  used  by  faimers. 
Premiums  were  ofi:"ered  for  plowing  with  both  oxen  and 
horses.  In  the  plowing  match  of  1840  there  were  two  com- 
petitors who  used  oxen  — Elisha  Strong  of  Northampton, 
and  Theodore  Bridgman  of  Belchertown,  but  the  horses 
were  more  numerous.  ( )xen  were  not  much  used  at  plow- 
ing matches  after  that. 

GROWTH   OF   THE   TOWN. 

No  part  of  the  town  has  grown  more  rapidly  than  that 
lying  north  of  Main  street,  now  crossed  by  Center,  State 


and  Masonic  streets.  That  was  almost  an  open  country  as 
late  as  1870.  The  Gothic  seminary  linilding  and  the  boys' 
high  school,  the  latter  on  the  site  of  the  present  Center 
grammar  school  honse.  were  the  principal  bnildings  in  that 
region.  This  was  originally  Asahel  Pomeroy's  home  lot, 
where  he  cnt  his  biggest  crop  of  grass.  An  advertisement 
in  the  Gazette  of  September,  1840,  b}^  W.  W.  Partridge, 
auctioneer,  offers  for  sale  "the  apples  growing  on  the  lot 
in  rear  of  Warner's  Coffee  Honse." 

THE    SCHOOLS. 

The  schools. of  the  town  were  not  like  the  schools  of  the 
present  time.  There  were,  besides  the  district  schools,  the 
boys'  high  school  in  the  open  lot  behind  the  old  church  and 
the  girls'  school  standing  some  distance  back  from  the  road 
on  land  now  covered  by  the  South  street  boulevard.  These 
were  brick  buildings,  cheaply  constructed,  heated  by  large 
box  wood  stoves.  Rev.  D.  M.  Crane,  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
church,  was  the  principal  school  committee  man,  and 
Rodolphus  B.  Hubbard  and  Eli  A.  Hubbard  were  success- 
ively principal  of  the  high  school.  Rev.  Hiram  Bingham, 
who  married  Miss  Martha  Brewster,  daughter  of  Capt. 
Jonathan  Brewster,  keeper  of  the  original  Mansion  House, 
was  principal  of  this  school,  and  left  that  position  to  enter 
upon  his  missionary  work  in  Honolulu.  He  and  his  wife 
are  still  living  and  engaged  in  the  same  missionary  labor. 

FLOGGING  BOYS-  NO  LONGER  TOLERATED. 

The  change  in  the  manner  of  family  and  school  govern- 
ment should  be  noticed.  Corporal  punishment  is  no  longer 
tolerated.  Sixty  years  ago  it  was  a  common  practice.  It 
was  often  a  question  whether  tlie  schoolmaster  or  the  big 
boys  should  rule,  and  the  use  of  the  whip  and  the  strap  was 
a  frequent  occurrence.  This  was  also  the  case  in  family 
government.  The  boy  who  did  not  receive  a  good  flogging, 
either  at  school  or  at  home,  was  not  considered  to  be  prop- 
erly brought  up.  The  change  in  this  respect  is  most  nota- 
ble.    It  marks  the  progress  of  our  civilization. 


LESS   PROFANITY   NOW   THAN   FORMERLY. 

Ill  another  respect  there  has  been  a  marked  advance. 
There  is  less  profanity  now  than  tliere  nsed  to  be  — mncli 
less.  This  has  doubtless  corae  from  the  raising  of  the  level 
of  education  and  the  general  uplifting  of  the  tone  of  social 
life.  Profanity  has  been  made  disreputable.  No  man. 
young  or  old.  can  now  maintain  a  decent  standing  in  the 
community  who  habitually  uses  profane  language.  It  is  a 
mark  of  vulgarity.  Perhaps  the  more  free  mingling  of 
young  men  and  young  ladies  in  our  public  schools,  acade- 
mies, colleges  and  universities  than  formerly  has  contril)u- 
ted  to  this  improvement.  But  certain  it  is  that  in  this 
particuhir  there  has  been  a  great  change  for  the  better. 

PECULIAR    CHARACTERS. 

A  town  of  the  size  of  Northampton,  with  about  4500 
population,  alwaj^s  has  some  peculiar  characters.  They  are 
not  its  great  men,  the  leaders  of  thought  and  action,  but 
oddities,  usually  men  of  ability,  but  distinguished  for  their 
eccentricities.  Such  a  character  was  Dr.  Sylvester  Graham. 
He  was  a  man  of  decided  ability.  His  hobby  was  the 
dietetic  theory  known  as  the  "Graham  system."  He  pub- 
lished a  book  called  the  ''  Science  of  Life,"  and  boasted  of 
the  imperishability  of  his  own  name  and  fame.  He  ex- 
pounded his  pet  theory  with  great  ability  and  earnestness. 
He  was  great  in  controversy,  and  many  of  his  articles  were 
published  in  the  local  papers.  He  never  conld  stop  writing 
until  he  had  worn  his  antagonist  out.  It  is  recorded  in  the 
Gazette  that  he  addressed  a  Whig  meeting  in  Plainfield  and 
spoke  four  hours  and  a  half  to  an  unwearied  audience.  He 
used  to  appear  on  Main  street,  arrayed  in  his  long  dressing- 
gown. 

Another  of  the  eccentric  men  of  the  town  was  John 
E'len.  He  came  here  from  England  and  was  furnished 
with  funds  by  his  friends  there.  He  was  well  along  in  life 
and  married  a  widow,  Mrs.  Colson,  who  owned  a  little 
house  on  the  southerly  side  of  Elm  street,  well  up  toward 

6 


the  entrance  to  Vernon  street.  He  was  a  well  educated 
man  and  contributed  many  articles  to  tlie  local  papers.  He 
aided  greatlj^  in  preparing  the  literary  feast  at  the  annual 
cattle  show  dinners  and  in  preparing  reports  of  commit- 
tees. Having  plenty  of  leisure  time,  he  was  daily  seen 
about  town,  a  familiar  figure,  always  neatly  dressed,  greet- 
ing everyone  with  politeness  and  cordiality.  From  here  he 
drifted  to  Hartford,  and  died  there  about  the  close  of  the 
Civil  war. 

There  were  other  notable  characters,  like  John  Haunum, 
jeweler  ;  Dr.  Jared  Bartlett,  teacher  of  penmanship  and 
gardener,  who  lived  near  Welch  End  bridge  ;  T.  B.  Hutch- 
ins,  the  ice-cream  man  and  repairer  of  old  clocks  ;  S.  P. 
Janes,  the  oyster  and  fish  man  ;  Dr.  E.  T.  Wood,  veteri- 
nary surgeon  and  an  original  genius  ;  Henry  O.  Edwards, 
restaurant  keeper,  fisherman  and  story-teller,  who  never 
failed  to  have  a  fitting  remark  for  everj^  occasion ;  Jerry 
Wells,  photographer  and  fisherman;  "Stiff  Phelps,  the 
South  street  hunter  ;  while  Elijah  Abbott,  Samuel  W.  Lee 
and  Ebenezer  Hancock  were  original  characters,  each  in  his 
peculiar  way. 

BAITING   cows. 

One  of  the  primitive  customs  of  the  times  was  the  bait- 
ing of  cows  along  the  roadside,  by  Alexander  Wright.  He 
would  gather  a  large  number  of  cows,  from  the  central 
parts  of  the  town,  and  bait  them  along  the  highwaj^  up 
King  street,  moving  leisurely  to  a  pasture  a  mile  or  two 
outside.  In  the  afternoon  he  drove  them  back  in  the  same 
slow  way,  returning  each  cow  to  the  barn  of  its  owner. 
This  custom  was  in  practice  here  through  the  forties  and 
into  the  fifties,  and  ended  with  the  death  of  Mr.  Wright. 

LITTLE   OBSERVANCE   OF   CHRISTMAS. 

The  observance  of  Christmas  was  not  much  in  vogue 
here  previous  to  1850.  In  fact,  very  little  attention  was 
paid  to  the  day.  The  ])rincipal  public  days  were  the  4th  of 
July,  the  cattle- shows  and  military  musters,  and  Thanks- 


giving  day.  Fast  day  was  observed  mncli  like  Sunday; 
There  was  no  sucli  thing  as  "  Christmas  trade."  Wedding 
presents  were  few  —  the  fashion  of  numerous  and  costly 
wedding  presents  had  not  arrived.  The  merchants  made  a 
great  deal  of  the  cattle-show  trade  and  advertised  liberally 
to  attract  it.  People  from  the  outlying  towns  were  eX' 
pected  to  visit  the  stores  as  well  as  to  inspect  the  agricul- 
tural exhibition,  and  there  was  an  unusual  amount  of  store- 
trading  done  here  on  the  cattle-show  days. 

JOSIAH    D.   WHITNEY    AND    DEACON    ELIPHALET    WILLIAMS. 

No  one  who  saw  Josiah  D.  Whitney,  the  venerable  cash- 
ier of  the  "'Old  Bank."  in  his  later  years,  arrayed  in  his 
long  fur-lined,  wrapper-like  coat,  will  ever  forget  his  strik- 
ing appearance.  He  was  often  seen  down  town  in  that 
unique  dress  in  cold  weather.  That  coat  is  still  preserved, 
and  in  the  possession  of  his  son.  Prof.  Henry  M.  Whitney, 
librarian  at  Branford,  Ct. 

The  appearance  of  Deacon  Eliphalet  Williams,  the  aged 
])resident  of  the  bank,  as  he  came  along  down  King  street 
in  the  morning,  swinging  the  big  key  to  the  bank  vault, 
was  also  a  striking  and  familiar  sight.  The  key  was  tied 
to  the  end  of  a  short  stick,  for  convenience  of  handling, 
and  the  stalwart  president  would  occasionally  give  it  a 
whirling,  summersault  motion,  by  way  of  entertainment 
for  himself,  no  doubt,  and  possibly  to  check  the  enthusiasm 
of  those  who  might  be  possessed  of  burglarious  intentions. 
Deacon  Williams  was  accustomed  to  ask  those  who  applied 
at  the  bank  for  loans,  "  What  use  they  were  going  to  make 
of  the  money  ?"  This  sometimes  gave  offense  to  the  cus- 
tomer, but  complaining  availed  not,  for  the  Deacon  was 
master  of  the  loan  situation. 


OLD  TOWN  HALL  AND  ENTRANCE  TO  KING  STREET. 


This  picture  gives  a  good  representation  of  the  old  town 
hall,  after  it  was  abandoned  for  town  meetings.  The  stone 
wall  that  ran  out  from  the  westerly  corner  toward  Main 
street,  as  shown  in  the  frontispiece,  has  disappeared,  also 
the  stairway  in  the  corner,  and  the  land  is  graded,  with  a 
low  railing  at  the  foot  of  the  slope.  The  balcony  in  front 
of  the  hall,  along  the  second  story,  has  also  disappeared. 
The  basement  was  used  by  the  Hook  and  Ladder  company, 
the  entrance  and  egress  being  where  the  "sloping  platform 
iFTseen.  The  sack  and  bucket  apparatus  was  also  stored  in 
this  basement.  In  the  rear  is  seen  the  brick  building  where 
Elijah  Abbott  had  his  paint-shop,  occupjing  the  easterly 
part,  and  Alonzo  Eustis  had  a  harness  shop  in  the  westerly 
part.  In  the  second  story  of  this  building  John  Metcalf 
and  his  son,  Lyman,  had  for  many  years  a  job  printing 
oflRce.  This  was  a  brick  building,  owned  by  Deacon  Eliph- 
alet  Williams.  Tlie  next  building  to  the  east  was  of  wood, 
ow]\ed  by  Dr.  Benjamin  Barrett,  and  was  used  for  a  stove- 
store  and  tin-sho]),  first  by  James  R.  Day  in  1848,  and  then 


84 


85 

bvNntliauH.  Felton.  jiiid  afterward  by  Wm.  G.  Dickinson 
for  a  o-rocery.  Mr.  Dickinson  did  tlie  weighing  at  tlie  liay- 
scales.  These  two  bnihlings  gave  way  for  the  present 
Jones  block.  The  next  bnikiing,  erected  in  1855  by  Charles 
S.  Pratt,  carpenter  and  contractor,  and  used  for  a  sasli  and 
blind  business  by  Isaac  R.  Clark,  stands  there  now.  Below 
is  the  original  Kinney  marble  shop,  just  as  it  stood  when 
C.  M.  Kinney  carried  on  the  marble  cutting  business  there 
fifty  years  ago.  It  has  since  been  raised  by  the  addition  of 
another  story.  In  the  distance  are  seen  the  buildings  on 
Round  Hill.  In  front,  we  see,  with  remarkable  clearness, 
the  two  large  elm  trees  that  stood  in  the  fork  of  the  roads 
and  the  hay-scales  between  them,  owned,  by  Ansel  and 
Christopher  Wright.  For  many  years  these  were  the  prin- 
cipal public  scales  in  the  town.  King  street  had  two 
entrances,  one  turning  to  the  west  and  cutting  off  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  corner  of  tlie  court-house  lot,  the 
other  turning  to  the  east  and  cutting  off  the  corner  where 
now  stands  the  First  National  bank  building.  The  flag 
staff  shown  stood  in  front  of  the  entrance  to  the  rear  half 
of  the  second  story  of  the  town  hall,  opening  on  the  west 
side.  That  room  was  used  by  the  Torrent  engine  company 
and  afterward  by  the  military  company.  Company  C  of 
the  10th  regiment  had  its  headquarters  there  before  going 
to  the  war  in  18G1,  and  Company  C  of  the  52d  regiment 
met  there  before  starting  for  Camp  Miller  at  Greenfield  in 
IHU'-i.  There  was  a  driveway  between  the  town  hall  and 
the  court  house.  There  was  no  court  house  park  then,  nor 
even  a  spot  of  green  about  the  building,  and  it  was  not 
generally  known  that  the  county  owned  the  land  where  the 
town  hall  stood.  The  exact  date  of  the  picture  is  not 
known,  but  the  representation  shows  the  buildings,  street 
and  hay-scales  as  they  were  in  1855. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A  FINE  OLD  NORTHAMPTON  HOMESTEAD  ON  MAIN  STREET — JUDGE  JOSEPH 
LYMAN  AND  HIS  DISTINGUISHED  WIFE — THEIR  HOME  THE  CENTER  OF 
THE   BEST  SOCIETY   IN   THE   TOWN. 

Peace  to  the  just  man's  memory: — let  it  grow 
Greener  with  years,  and  blossom  through  the  flight 
Of  time;  let  the  mimic  canvas  show 
His  calm,  benevolent  features;  let  the  light 
Stream  on  his  deeds  of  love,  that  shunned  the  sight 
Of  all  but  heaven,  and,  in  the  book  of  fame, 
The  glorious  record  of  his  virtues  write. 

—Bryant. 

The  reason  firm,  the  temperate  will, 
Endurance,  foresight,  strength  and  skill, 
A  perfect  woman,  nobly  planned. 
To  warn,  to  comfort,  and  command. 

—  Wordsworth. 

One  of  the  principal  charms  of  the  town  were  its  fine  old 
residences  in  the  center  of  the  village.  There  were  man}'" 
beantiful  residences  a  little  out  from  the  center  —  the 
Thomas  Napier  house  on  Elm  street,  now  the  Capen 
school ;  the  Judge  Henshaw  house  on  Elm  street,  now 
owned  by  Bishop  Huntington  :  the  Judge  Howe  house,  the 
Col.  John  Stoddard  house  and  the  Bowers  house  on  Pros- 
pect street ;  the  Erastus  Hopkins  house  on  King  street ; 
the  David  Damon  house  and  J.  Stebbins  Lathrop  house  on 
Bridge  street  ;  the  J.  H.  Butler  house  on  Hawley  street  ; 
and  the  houses  of  Thomas  and  Samuel  Whitmarsh  on 
South  street ;  but  thej'  were  so  far  from  the  center  that 
they  added  little  to  the  rural  aspect  of  the  center  village  as 
viewed  from  its  principal  street. 

In  the  very  heart  of  the  town,  almost  in  touch  with  its 

86 


principul  tavern,  on  the  nortli  side  of  Main  street,  was 
Judge  Joseph  Lyman's  beautiful  home — a  square-framed 
two-story  house,  with  a  wing  on  each  side  some  distance 
back,  set  among  towering  shade  trees,  with  a  barn,  shed, 
and  large  dooryard  to  the  west,  all  fronting  on  the  main 
thoroughfare.  In  the  easterly  corner  of  the  front  yard, 
next  to  the  Lyman  brick  block,  there  was  a  large  seringo 
bush,  which  in  summer  gave  fragrance  and  beauty  to  the 
dwellers  within  and  the  passers-by.  The  trees  were  elms, 
locust,  and  horse  chestnuts.  There  was  a  fence  in  front  of 
the  entire  premises.  The  honored  Judge  had  recently 
(18+7)  ended  his  labors  and  passed  to  his  reward  in  the 
world  beyond,  but  his  wife  remained.  She  was  a  very 
remarkable  woman,  distinguished  for  her  rare  personal 
beauty  in  the  years  of  her  youth,  when  she  came  as  a  bride 
from  ••  Brush  Hill"  in  Milton  to  grace  Judge  Lyman's 
home,  and  for  the  genial  hospitality  and  charm  of  manner 
with  which  she  adorned  her  household.  The  Judge,  also, 
was  noted  for  his  fine  personal  appearance  and  gentlemanly 
bearing,  and  it  was  a  common  remark  that  they  were  "  the 
handsomest  couple  that  ever  entered  the  old  church." 
They  were  married  in  1811,  when  Judge  Lyman  was  forty- 
two  and  she  twenty-one.  A  few  years  after  the  death  of 
her  husband  Mrs.  Lyman  removed  to  her  old  home  in  Mil- 
ton, where  she  died  in  1867,  surviving  him  twenty  years. 
The  Judge  Lyman  house  stood  until  1870,  when  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  and  the  land  sold  for  building  purposes. 
The  Keating  block,  and  the  stores  between  it  and  the  Man- 
sion House,  Carr  bakery  and  other  buildings  in  the  rear 
and  on  Masonic  street,  now  stand  on  the  site  of  this  old 
homestead.  Here  Judge  Lyman  lived  nearly  all  his  life  ; 
here  he  entertained  the  judges  and  lawyers  from  a  distance 
during  the  sessions  of  the  courts  ;  here  the  people  of  the 
town  came,  the  rich  and  the  poor  alike,  as  children  come 
to  their  home  :  and  here  were  peace,  comfort,  contentment 
and  happiness  in  rare  abundance. 

After  Mrs.  Lyman  left  her  home  here,   the  house  was 
.occupied  several  years  by  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Fisk.     Judge  Ly- 


88 

man  owned  tlie  lot  between  the  Unitarian  cliurcli  and  the 
Prindle  house,  on  which  now  stands  the  Clarke  library- 
building,  and  used  it  for  a  garden.  Dr.  Fisk  pastured  his 
two  cows  there  when  he  occupied  the  Lyman  house,  and 
had  a  garden  in  the  west  end  of  the  house  lot.  where  the 
Rust  block  and  other  stores  now  stand.  The  house,  in  its 
later  years,  was  used  for  business  purposes,  and  was  thus 
used  when  it  was  destroyed  by  tire. 

In   the  years  of  Judge  Lyman's  prime  of  life— IS  11  to 
1840— his  home  was  the  center  of  the  best  social   life  of 
Northampton.      The  town  was  then  distinguished  far  be- 
yond  its  borders   for  its   refined   and   cultivated   society. 
There  were  among  its  residents  in  that  period,  George  Ban- 
croft and  Joseph  G.  Cogswell,  the  founders  of  the  Round 
Hill  school,  the  lawyers  who  conducted   the  law  school, 
Madame  D wight  of  the  Young  Ladies'  institute,  or  Gothic 
seminary,    the   pastors  of   the  various   churches,  and  the 
families  of  Judge  Joseph  Lyman,   Judge  Samuel   Howe, 
Judge  Charles  A.    Dewey.    Judge   Samuel   Henshaw,    Dr. 
David  Hunt,   Isaac  C.    Bates,   Elijah   H.    Mills,   Ebenezer 
Hunt,    Judge   Samuel   F.    Lyman,    Samuel   L.    Hinckley, 
Thomas  Napier,  Henry  Bright,  David  Lee  Child,  Samuel 
and  Thomas  Whitmarsh,  Christopher  Clarke,  John  Clarke, 
Edward  Clarke,  Stephen  Brewer,  Thomas  Shepherd,  Henry 
Shepherd,  J.  Hunt  Butler,  Samuel  Wells,  Pi-esident  Will- 
iam Allen,  Erastus  Hopkins,  Henry  G.   Bowers.  Solomon 
Stoddard,  Lewis  Strong,  the  Clarks,  Pomeroys,  Damons, 
Warners,  and  many  others,  all  people  well-to-do  for  those 
times.     The  town  was  then  more  isolated  than  it  has  been 
since  the  advent  of   railroads.      Strangers  were  compara- 
tively few,  and  the  people  necessarily  made  more  (^f  their 
local  life.     There  was  (until  1826)  but  one  church  in  the 
town  and  all  came  together  on  Sundays  in  the  old  meeting- 
house, not  merely  for  public  worship,  but  for  an  outpour- 
ing and  intermingling  of  their  social  natures.     There  were 
no  select  sets,  surrounded  by  walls  barring  out  other  peo- 
ple.    There  was  a  common  feeling  of  kinship  among  all 
the  people,  cemented  with  respect  for  the  aged,  the  wise 


so 

aiul  the  good.  Everybody  knew  everybody  in  the  town. 
Tt  was  indeed  a  reiuarkal)ly  happy  and  self-respecting  com- 
munity. 

Judge  Lyman's  home  was  distinguished  for  the  hospital- 
ity maintained  there.  Both  the  Judge  and  his  wife  were 
especially  gifted  as  entertainers.  There  was  little  distinc- 
tion shoAvn.  All  the  people  of  the  town  were  welcomed  at 
the  home  of  Judge  Lyman.  Many  visitors  from  Boston 
and  the  Berkshire  hills  came,  also  the  prominent  people  of 
the  surrounding  regions.  Among  those  who  came  fi'om 
Boston  were  Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke.  Ralph  Waldo 
Emerson,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale.  The  latch- 
string  was  alwaj^s  hanging  outside  the  door  and  there  was 
rare! 5^  a  meal  when  some  visitor  was  not  present  at  the 
family  table.  It  is  related  that  the  keeper  of  the  village 
tavern  complained  that  he  could  not  make  tavern-keeping 
there  profitable,  because  Judge  Lyman  invited  so  many  of 
the  visitors  to  the  town  to  his  home. 

Judge  Lyman  was  most  fortunate  in  the  choice  of  his 
second  wife.  Though  much  younger  than  liimself,  she 
came  to  his  liappy  home  as  a  bride  equipped  with  a  culti- 
vated mind,  refined  and  dignified  manners,  a  high  Christian 
spirit,  and  a  resolute  and  impetuous  nature,  which  made 
her  at  once,  and  by  common  consent,  the  central  figure  in 
the  social  life  of  the  town.  She  was  wonderfully  indus- 
trious, and  possessed  the  rare  faculty  of  accomplishing  much 
by  working  through  others  as  well  as  by  the  labor  of  her 
own  hands.  She  saw,  nor  wanted  to  see,  no  idle  hours. 
Her  nature  was  generous  and  unselfish  to  a  marked  degree, 
and  she  was  never  happier  than  when  doing  for  others. 
Her  efforts  were  not  confined  to  those  of  her  own  house- 
hold and  kindred,  but  embraced  the  whole  circle  of  her 
acquaintance,  and  even  beyond  that.  She  aided  many 
young  men  to  obtain  a  collegiate  education — among  them 
William  S.  and  James  B.  Thayer,  sons  of  Abijah  W. 
Thayer,  and  Chauncey  Wright,  son  of  Deputy  Sheriff 
Ansel  Wright,  all  of  whom  graduated  at  Harvard. 

Mrs.  Lyman  was  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday  school  in  the 


90 

old  meeting-house  in  the  years  when  there  was  but  one 
church  in  the  town,  and  continued  as  such  after  the  Unita- 
rian church  was  organized  and  a  separate  church  built. 
She  wrote  numerous  letters  to  her  absent  relatives,  which 
bear  abundant  evidence  of  her  cultivated  mind  and  high 
ideals  of  life.  Some  years  after  her  death,  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  Susan  L.  Lesley,  compiled  many  of  these  letters  and 
had  them  published,  together  with  a  detailed  sketch  of  her 
life,  entitled  "Recollections  of  My  Mother,"  a  beautiful 
tribute  to  a  devoted  mother  and  a  queenly  woman.  These 
"Recollections"  were  prepared  only  for  the  private  use  of 
the  family  and  a  few  relatives  and  friends,  and  at  first  only 
one  hundred  copies  were  printed,  but  later  another  small 
edition  was  printed.  The  whole  fills  a  book  of  496  pages. 
By  the  kindness  of  the  late  Edward  H.  R.  Lyman,  a  son  of 
Judge  and  Mrs.  Lyman,  a  copy  of  this  most  interesting 
and  valuable  book  was  placed  in  the  Clarke  library,  for  the 
use  of  the  people  of  the  town,  to  whom  it  must  ever  be  a 
pleasing  reminder  of  the  life  of  the  community  in  what 
have  now  become  its  important  historic  years.  The 
"Recollections"  are  most  charmingly  written,  and  being 
prepared  with  the  freedom  which  absence  from  public 
observation  invited,  are  all  tlie  more  valuable.  It  is  indeed 
a  fascinating  book,  and  our  later  generations  must  thank 
Mrs.  Lesley  for  what  she  has  done  in  lifting  the  veil  and 
opening  to  public  view  the  life  of  her  distinguished  parents, 
and  also  an  inside  view  of  the  community  in  which  they 
bore  so  prominent  a  part.  In  reading  her  "  Recollections," 
and  perusing  the  vivacious  letters  of  her  mother,  one  is 
irresistibly  carried  back  to  those  early  days,  and  seems  to 
live  again,  an  interested  member  of  that  delightful  society 
in  this  most  delightful  country  town. 

A  copy  of  this  book  was  also  placed  in  the  Boston  public 
library  by  the  family,  and  I  am  told  that  it  is  one  of  the 
most  called-for  books  in  the  library.  Judge  and  Mrs.  Ly- 
man were  well  known  in  Boston,  and  often  visited  there,  in 
its  best  society. 

The   following   extracts   from   this  book  of   "  Recollec- 


91 


tions '"  give  a  vivid  picture  of  the  rural  town  and  the  inner 
life  of  its  charming  society,  which  nowhere  else  can  be 
found  :  — 

"  Northampton  was  at  that  period  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful of  New  England  villages.  My  fathers  house  stood  in 
the  very  center, — a  large,  old-fashioned,  square  house,  with 
a  wing  on  each  side  back  from  the  main  building.  Each 
wing  had  a  little  covered  porch  looking  out  into  the  Main 
street.     A  small  yard  on  one  side  separated  the  house  from 


■■A.'~'.'"s 


'<>v;??i 


JUDGE  JOSEPH  LYMAN  S   HOUSE. 

a  brick  store,  whose  upper  floor  was  occupied  by  a  printing 
office.  The  other  side-yard  was  much  larger  and  more 
rural.  There  was  almost  a  grove  of  beautiful  acacias  there, 
and  in  the  little  front  enclosure  were  a  tulip-tree  and  many 
flowering  shrubs  :  a  row  of  five  horse  chestnuts  and  a  large 
elm  shaded  and  protected  the  house  somewhat  from  the 
glare  and  dust  of  Main  street. 

''  The  outlooks  from  the  house  were  all  charming.  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street,  and  separated  from  it  by  one  of 


02 

the  loveliest  front  yards,  stood  the  house  of  our  neighbor, 
Mr.  Ebenezer  Hunt,  whose  place  was  always  kept  in  per- 
fect order,  and  an  exquisite  taste  presided  over  all  the 
hedges  and  flowering  plants  and  lovely  vines.  Near  to  it 
came,  a  few  years  later,  our  little  church,  a  small  Grecian 
temple,  with  its  avenue  of  trees  leading  to  it,  and  with 
Mrs,  Hunt's  garden  on  one  side  and  my  father's  on  the 
other,  the  very  spot  now  occupied  by  the  public  library. 
From  my  window  in  our  house  there  was  something  pleas- 
ant for  the  eye  to  rest  upon,  and  little  vistas  of  exquisite 
beauty,  even  though  in  the  heart  of  the  village.  As  soon 
as  the  autumn  leaves  had  fallen,  the  west  end  of  Mount 
Tom  appeared  to  us  through  the  interval  between  Mr. 
Hunt's  house  and  the  little  church, — a  grand  and  noble 
peak,  that  well  repaid  us  for  the  loss  of  foliage  and  sum- 
mer beauty  ;  and  from  our  front  door,  winter  and  summer, 
we  could  always  see  Mount  Holyoke,  in  varying  lights  and 
shadows  —  sometimes  cloud-capped  and  dark,  sometimes 
resplendent  with  the  sun-tipped  mists  that  were  rolling 
away  from  it.  My  mother  delighted  in  natural  beauty, 
and  no  one  ever  enjoyed  more  than  she  did  the  sights  and 
sounds  that  surrounded  her. 

"There  were  no  very  rich  people  in  Northampton,  but 
many  persons  of  elegant  culture,  refined  and  aristocratic 
manners,  and  possessing  a  moderate  competence,  lived 
there  in  much  ease,  envying  no  one,  really  believing  them- 
selves highly  favored,  as  they  were,  and  practicing  a  gen- 
erous hospitality  at  all  times.  It  was  a  county  town,  and 
so  seemed  a  large  place  to  the  people  on  the  outskirts,  but 
it  really  numbered  only  4000  inhabitants.  If  there  were 
no  rich  people,  there  was  certainly  an  utter  absence  of  pov- 
erty, and  none  of  those  sad  sights  to  meet  the  eye,  remind- 
ing one  of  a  destiny  entirely  different  from  one's  own. 
Little  or  no  business  was  done  there,  but  Shop  Row  con- 
tained about  ten  stores,  all  of  them  excellent,  dry  goods  and 
hardware  stores,  and  an  apothecary's,  which  made  a  little 
cheerful  bustle  in  the  center  of  the  town,  especially  on  cer- 
tain days  of   the  week,  when   the  country  people  would 


come  in  in  their  old-fashioned  wagons  to  do  their  sli()i)ping. 
There  were  two  United  States  senators  residing  tliere  for 
life,  three  jndges.  many  eminent  lawyers  and  scholars,  re- 
tired people,  wlio  hail  no  connection  with  the  business 
world,  and  who  lived  within  their  moderate  income,  and 
never  dreamed  of  liaving  more.  Tlie  matcliless  beauty  of 
the  scenery  attracted  many  visitors.  The  more  wealthy 
families  of  Boston  were  fond  of  taking  carriage  journeys 
of  two  or  three  weeks,  and  would  take  Northampton  in 
their  way  as  they  went  into  Berksliire.  Many  a  family 
have  come  in  this  way  to  our  two  hotels  in  the  summer  and 
autumn,  and  would  stop  two  or  three  days  to  ascend  Mount 
Holyoke  or  Tom,  to  drive  to  Mount  Warner  or  Sugar  Loaf, 
to  walk  over  Round  Hill,  or  round  and  through  the  rural 
streets  of  our  village,  which  were  so  lined  with  magnificent 
elms,  that,  from  the  mountain,  it  always  looked  as  if  built 
in  a  forest.  Every  morning  the  stage  for  Boston — the  old- 
fashioned,  yellow  stage-coach,  with  a  driver  who  was  the 
personal  friend  of  the  whole  village— drew  up  in  front  of 
Warners  tavern,  with  a  great  flourish  of  whipping  up  the 
four  horses  ;  and  every  evening  the  stage  from  Boston  was 
known  to  be  approaching  by  the  musical  notes  of  the  bugle- 
horn  in  the  distance.  I  think  the  driver  always  wound  his 
horn  just  after  he  crossed  the  great  bridge  from  Hadley. 

"'  My  father  was  one  of  the  most  industrious  of  men  ;  all 
through  winter's  cold  and  summer's  heat  he  labored  faith- 
fully at  his  law  business  from  morning  till  night,  for  the 
maintenance  of  his  large  family.  If  ever  man  fulfilled  the 
injunction,  '  Not  slothful  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit, 
serving  the  Lord,'  he  did.  Social  enjoyment  was  his  great, 
in  fact  his  only,  recreation  \  and  the  sound  of  the  stage- 
horn  at  eventide  was  to  him  like  martial  music  to  a  war- 
horse.  His  face  would  glow  in  the  evening  light,  his  step 
become  alert.  He  reached  his  hat  from  the  tree  in  the  hall, 
and  hastened  out  to  be  at  the  tavern  before. the  stage  ap- 
peared. With  a  shining  countenance  he  would  retui-n  and 
tell  of  the  fine  people  who  had  arrived  ;  how  lie  had 
offered  his  carriage  and  horses  to  Mr.  A.,  or  Mrs.'B.  and 


04 


lier  daughters,  to  go  up  the  mountain  the  next  day  ;  hoW 
he  had  invited  this  friend  to  breakfast  with  liim,  another 
to  tea.  More  often  he  came  home  with  some  person  in  ill 
health,  or  in  sorrow,  not  likely  to  be  quite  comfortable  at 
the  tavern  :  and  "  Wouldn't  it  be  well  to  send  Hiram  for 
their  trunks  and  tell  them  to  come  right  here  ?'  To  which 
my  mother's  quick  response,  '  Why,  of  course,  that's  the 
only  thing  to  do,'  made  him  entirely  happy,  as  he  hurried, 
off  to  summon  his  guests. 


JUDGE  JOSEPH   LYMAN. 

"  The  number  of  really  fine  gentlemen  who  assembled  at 
our  house  to  see  my  father,  almost  every  day,  for  at  least 
seven  or  eight  months  of  the  long  year,  was  very  great. 
Tlie  judges  of  the  supreme  court  were  all  warmly  attached 
to  him,  and  they  delighted  in  my  mother's  society.     Judge 


&5 

Williams  once  said,  'When  I  go  on  the  circuit,  I  try  tO 
find  some  young  person  who  has  never  been  at  Northamp- 
ton ;  and  then  I  take  them  to  Judge  Lyman's,  because  I 
consider  that  a  part  of  a  liberal  education.'  As  I  remem- 
ber,— and  it  must  always  have  been  so, — much  of  the  con- 
versation of  my  father  and  his  friends  was  upon  the  courts 
and  history  of  the  times,  and  none  at  all  upon  any  small  or 
local  gossip." 

Mrs.  Lesley  pays  this  fine  tribute  to  her  mother,  after 
speaking  of  her  modest  wardrobe  of  three  gowns:  "And 
oh  I  how  handsome  she  was  in  evening  dress,  even  when 
she  had  not  on  the  'good  gown"  that  belonged  to  state 
occasions.  I  thought  her  manners  then,  and  I  think  them 
now,  after  a  long  review,  the  finest  I  have  ever  seen, 
except  my  father's,  which  were  even  finer,  having  in  them 
the  trace  of  a  life  filled  with  beatitudes.  My  mother  had 
a  noble  presence,  and  what  would  have  been  called  stately 
manners,  had  they  not  been  so  gracious,  so  full  of  friend- 
liness and  sympathy,  and  sincere  cordiality." 

Mrs.  L.  Maria  Child,  a  cultivated  and  distinguished  lady, 
the  wife  of  David  Lee  Child,  who  lived  on  a  farm  to  the 
southwest  of  Florence,  wrote  most  interestingly  of  Mrs. 
Lyman.  She  was  an  attendant  at  the  Unitarian  church 
and  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  Lyman  homestead.  "It  was 
one  of  my  delights  at  that  time,"  she  said,  writing  to  Mrs. 
Lesley,  and  referring  to  the  ministry  of  John  S.  Dwight, 
1841,  "to  observe  your  father  and  mother,  as  they  walked 
up  the  aisle  of  the  church.  They  had  such  a  goodly  ])res- 
ence  I  One  rarely  sees  a  couple  so  handsome,  after  they 
have  passed  the  meridian  of  their  life,  and  their  bearing 
was  an  impersonation  of  unpretending  dignity.  Your 
mother  especially  was  as  stately  in  her  motions  as  if  she 
had  been  reared  in  the  atmosphere  of  royalty." 

Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke  of  Boston,  who  knew  the 
Lyman  family  well,  from  frequent  visits  to  it.  wrote,  after 
describing  Northampton  as  "  a  specimen  of  the  best  kind 
of  New  England  villages"  : — "  In  this  town  of  Northamp- 
ton, Mrs.  Lyman  was  the  center  of  a  bright  social  activity. 


The  people  read  books,  and  mostly  the  same  books,  and 
they  were  sufficiently  educated  to  take  an  interest  in  good 
conversation.  They  did  a  large  portion  of  their  household 
work  in  the  morning,  and  had  leisure  for  a  little  social  in- 
tercourse in  the  afternoon  or  evening.  Society  was  not 
divided  into  '  sets'  or  '  circles,'  but  the  humblest  might  feel 
at  ease  in  the  company  of  the  most  distinguished.  In  such 
a  community  Mrs.  Lyman  was  at  home,  and  in  her  trvie 
sphere.  Her  active  intellect,  her  joyful  disposition,  her 
cheerful  faith,  made  her  a  radiating  point  of  light  and 
warmth,  Frank  and  sincere,  she  said  just  what  she 
thought  ;  did  just  what  she  believed  right  :  was  wholly  un- 
conventional ;  and  yet  all  saw  that  she  was  anchored  by 
conscience  to  primal  truths,  and  was  in  no  danger  of  drift- 
ing into  any  dangerous  extreme.  She  was  conservative  by 
education  and  habit,  but  progressive  by  the  independent 
activity  of  her  mind." 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  who  had  often  visited  the  Lyman 
home  while  supplying  the  desk  of  the  Unitarian  church 
during  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Mr.  Hall,  wrote  :  — "I  had  not 
then,  and  I  cannot  believe  that  I  have  since,  seen  so  stately 
and  naturally  distinguished  a  pair  as  Judge  and  Mrs.  Ly- 
man. Your  mother  was  then  a  queenly  woman,  nobly 
formed,  in  yjerfect  health,  made  for  society,  with  flowing 
conversation,  high  spirits,  and  perfectly  at  ease, — under- 
standing and  fulfilling  the  duties  which  the  proverbial  hos- 
pitality of  your  house  required."  A^isitors,  distinguished 
as  judges  and  lawj^ers,  came  and  went,  "bnt  no  guests 
came,  or  could  come,  I  thought,  who  surpassed  the  dignity 
and  the  intelligence  of  the  hosts."' 

This  chapter  might  fittingly  end  here,  but  a  few  words 
more  must  be  added.  After  reading  these  beautiful  trib- 
utes to  this  noble  couple,  one  feels  almost  lifted  into  an 
atmosphere  born  of  the  higher  life.  The  mind  broadens, 
and  we  seem  to  see  and  feel  something  of  that  charming 
social  life  which  had  its  center  in  this  Lyman  home,  radia- 
ting through  all  the  surrounding  regions.  What  a  broad- 
ening and  uplifting  influence  it  was  I    As  the  wave  caused 


by  a.^itation  of  the  watei'  near  the  sliore  of  the  ocean  dies 
not  until  it  reaches  the  opposite  shore,  so  the  ennobling 
influences  that  went  out  from  this  Northamjiton  home,  ever 
widening  and  deepening  with  the  advancing  years,  will 
never  cease  their  onward  flow  until  they  reach  the  eternal 
shores  of  time. 


EDWARD   EVERETT'S  PROPHECY   OF  HOLYOKE'S  GROWTH. 

Made  at  a  Cattle  Show  Dinner  in  Northampton,  Oct.  7,  1852. 

"I  speak  from  no  bias  of  interest.  Mr.  President,  when  I  say,  that 
before  the  last  tints  of  the  rose  of  yonth  npon  the  fairest  cheek  in  this 
assembly  shall  have  softened  into  the  autumnal  hue  of  declining  years  : 
before  the  lad,  whom  I  saw  at  the  end  of  this  table  a  moment  since, 
shall  have  a  head  as  grey  as  mine,  there  will  be  a  city  of  fifty  thousand 
inhabitants  at  the  falls  of  Hadley.  I  hope  that  boy  will  remember 
what  I  say,  and  if  some  fifty  years  hence  he  shall  stand  where  I  stand, 
and  make  a  speech  at  the  anniversary  of  this  society,  let  him  saj^  that 
he  remembers  how  a  i^oor  old  hunker  of  an  ex-Governor  in  1852  had 
enough  of  Young  America  in  his  veins  to  lift  the  veil  which  hides  the 
future,  far  enough  at  least  to  discern  the  coming  fortiines  of  Hoi  yoke. 
Sir.  as  I  intimated,  I  have  no  interest  in  the  prediction.  I  should  not 
be  a  dollar  the  poorer  if  the  new  dam  was  to  follow  the  old  one  down- 
stream to-morrow  ;  nor  a  farthing  the  richer  if  by  the  hand  of  a  higher 
power  its  braces  and  its  abutments  were  turned  into  a  mass  of  red 
sandstone,  as  firm  as  that  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  Mount  Holyoke. 
Biit  I  say.  that  the  seventy  weeks  in  tlie  book  of  Daniel  were  not  surer 
to  be  fulfilled  than  the  prospects  of  the  new  city  are  to  be  realized.  It 
was  perhaps  begun  a  little  too  soon,  but  the  popiilation  of  the  United 
States  will  soon  overtake  it.  It  must  be  a  long  start  which  does  not 
soon  vanish  before  the  growth  of  a  population  of  twenty-four  milli(nis, 
which  doubles  itself  in  twenty-five  years.  Such  a  dam,  such  a  water- 
power,  I  never  saw ! " 

Population  of  Holyoke  in  1900,  U.  S.  Census,  .  .  .  45,712 

EstiniatPfl  population  .Tanuary  1,  1903,  ....  48.800 


9  8 


PICTURE    OF    THE    HOOIv^    AND    LADDER    COMPANY. 

This  picture,  on  the  opposite  page,  is  from  a  photograph 
taken  immediately  after  a  muster  of  the  Nortliampton  fire 
department  in  the  fall  of  1879,  The  apparatus,  as  you  see, 
was  gaily  decorated  for  the  occasion.  The  company  was 
halted  in  King  street,  east  of  the  old  town  hall,  where  it 
had  its  headquarters  in  the  basement.  The  two  large  elm 
trees  are  seen,  between  which  were  the  hay-scales.  The 
iron  water-tank  appears  near  by.  In  the  foreground  stands 
Policeman  Frederick  G.  Richards,  in  full  uniform.  He 
had  been  on  duty  all  day  and  was  feeling  his  full  size. 
How  firm  and  solid  he  stands  !  And  natural  as  life,  too. 
The  driver  is  our  well-known  citizen  and  veteran  hostler 
and  liveryman.  Isaac  N.  Taylor,  and  he,  too,  looks  quite  life- 
like. There  can  be  no  mistaking  him.  In  the  center  of 
the  load,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  his  forty  years  of  service 
in  the  fire  department,  appears  William  F.  Knapp.  Mr. 
Knapp  was  another  veteran  fireman  of  the  town  and  justly 
took  great  pride  in  his  long  service  in  that  department. 
Calvin  B.  Kingsley,  our  well-known  veteran  soldier  in  the 
Civil  war,  was  the  foreman  of  the  company.  He  stands  at 
the  head  of  the  company,  next  to  Policeman  Richards. 
Then  follow,  in  order,  from  left  to  right,  'Jonathan  Strong  ; 
'Orange  Wright ;  'Charles  C.  Kellogg ;  'Spencer  Cook ; 
'Luke  Day  ;  'Charles  C.  Clapp  ;  'John  Landry  ;  'Samuel  C. 
Rose  :  ''Samuel  B.  Strong  ;  '"Benjamin  A.  Phelps  ;  "George 
D.  Briscoll  ;  the  last  two  seated  on  the  load. 


99 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MORE  FINE  RESIDENCES  IN  THE  CENTER  —  HOUSES  OF  EBENEZER  HUNT, 
THEODORE  STRONG,  GOVERNOR  STRONG,  POLLY  POMEROY,  JUDGE 
DEWEY,  JUDGE  SAMUEL  F.  LYMAN  AND  JOHN  CLARKE  —  THE  OLD 
CHURCH — THE   OLD   COURT  HOUSE   AND   COURT  HOUSE  LOT. 

When  Time,  who  steals  our  years  away. 

Shall  steal  our  pleasures  too. 
The  mern'ry  of  the  past  will  stay, 

And  half  our  joys  renew. 

— Thomas  Moore. 

Almost  opposite  Judge  Lyman's,  on  the  corner  of  Main 
and  South  streets,  where  now  are  Rahar's  inn  and  a  row  of 
business  shops,  stood  the  house  of  Ebenezer  Hunt.  This 
was  perhaps  the  finest  location  for  a  residence  in  the  town. 
High,  airy,  roomy,  central,  commanding  a  delightful  view 
of  forest,  meadow  and  mountain,  it  was  the  ideal  spot  for 
a  gentleman's  residence  in  a  country  town.  The  grounds 
were  more  ample  than  those  of  any  other  residence  in  the 
immediate  center,  embracing  all  the  land  fronting  on  Main 
and  South  streets  east  of  the  Unitarian  church  and  extend- 
ing to  Mill  river.  There  was  a  fine  apple  orchard  on  the 
hillside,  with  pear,  (-herry,  peach  and  other  fruit  trees  on 
the  upland.  A  noble  elm  tree,  tall  and  stately,  stood  in 
front  of  the  house,  just  outside  the  yard,  and  around  the 
base  of  the  tree  was  a  large  mound  of  earth.  The  house 
fronted  partly  on  South  and  partly  on  Main  street,  mainly 
in  the  direction  of  the  "old  church."  In  the  year  1849,  as 
previously  stated,  just  after  the  town  had  voted  to  erect  a 
new  town  hall,  this  place  was  bought  by  a  syndicate  of 
nine  citizens,  so  as  to  insure  the  location  of  the  hall  where 

]  00 


101 

it  now  stands.  The  liouse  was  moved  to  the  rear  of  the 
lot,  near  the  Unitarian  church,  where  it  still  remains, 
remodeled  somewhat,  but  retaining  some  of  its  old-time 
appearance.  The  elm  tree  that  stood  in  the  front  was  one 
of  the  handsomest  trees  in  the  center  of  the  town.  Its 
trunk  was  straight  for  thirty  to  forty  feet  below  the 
branches,  and  it  stood  out  with  an  individuality  all  its 
own,  a  conspicuous  and  pleasing  feature  of  the  village 
landscape.  Mr.  Hunt's  garden  was  in  the  west  end  of  his 
lot.  next  to  the  Unitarian  church,  where  now  stands  the 
city  hall. 

Still  another  beautiful  residence  was  that  of  Theodore 
Strong,  on  the  west  corner  of  Main  and  Pleasant  streets. 
It  occupied  all  the  land  below  the  Clarke  block  and  fronted 
on  Pleasant  street.  It  was  a  large  two-story  building, 
quite  as  stylish  in  appearance  as  any  house  in  town.  In 
1844,  Mr.  Strong  having  died,  the  house  was  occupied  by 
Dr.  J.  W.  Smith,  dentist,  who  had  his  office  in  it.  Unlike 
the  houses  of  Judge  Lyman  and  Mr.  Hunt,  this  house  was 
painted  white.  The  place  was  purchased  by  Major  Kirk- 
land  about  1850  and  the  house  moved  toward  Main  street 
and  converted  into  stores.  It  finally  went  the  way  of  all 
wooden  buihlings  on  Shop  Row,  being  consumed  by  fire, 
and  on  its  site  now  stands  the  Lambie  and  Cohn  blocks. 
This  house  is  shown  in  the  picture  of  Northampton  center 
on  page  28. 

When  the  Connecticut  River  railroad  was  built  in  the 
forties,  the  house  of  Governor  Strong,  which  stood  facing 
Main  street  on  land  now  occujjied  by  the  Hampshire  House 
and  stores  to  the  west,  was  removed  to  Pleasant  street,  and 
occupied  by  his  son,  Hon.  Lewis  Strong.  This  must  have 
been  a  fine  old  homestead  in  its  early  years,  when  occupied 
by  the  Governor.  Much  of  the  land  occupied  by  the  rail- 
roads for  depot  and  tracks  was  a  part  of  this  homestead. 
It  embraced  five  acres,  and  extended  from  Hawley  street  to 
Pleasant  street,  and  was  of  the  same  dimensions  as  the 
Pomeroy  homestead  directly  north,  across  the  highway. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  under  the  shade  of 


102 


towering  elms,  was  the  "  Polly  Pomeroy  house."  Miss 
Polly,  an  aged  maiden  lady  of  local  renown,  was  the 
daughter  of  Asahel  Pomeroy,  a  great  man  in  his  day.  He 
kept  the  principal  tavern  in  town  thirty  years,  was  select- 
man twelve  years,  and  representative  in  the  legislature  four 
years.  He  died  in  this  house  in  1833,  in  his  eighty-fourth 
year.  •  The  house  was  occupied  by  various  people  in  its 
later  years,  among  them  Prof.  Josiah  Clark,  and  finally,  in 
1896,  gave  way  for  the  present  Masonic  building.  Previous 
to  1840  this  old  homestead  embraced  five  acres  of  land. 


■JUDGE  CHARLES   A.    DEWEY  S   HOUSE. 

On  the  brow  of  the  hill,  on  land  now  occupied  b}^  Smith 
college,  stood  two  fine  residences.  Where  now  stands  Pres- 
ident Seelye's  house  stood  the  stately  residence  of  Judge 
Charles  A.  Dewey,  and  to  the  south  was  the  less  preten- 
tious house  of  Judge  Samuel  F.  Lyman.  These  were 
bought  and  removed  to  make  room  for  college  buildings. 
The  Judge  Dewey  house  was  removed  to  the  rear  and  is 
used  for  a  dormitory,  bearing  the  honored  name  of  its  old- 


,       103 

time  owner  and  occupant.  The  Judge  Lyman  house  was 
removed  to  State  street  and  converted  into  tenements. 

No  one  who  knew  Judge  Dewey  in  the  years  of  liis  prime 
will  forget  his  fine  personal  appearance.  He  was  a  hand- 
some figure,  and  as  he  walked  down  town,  with  elastic  step, 
swinging  liis  cane  with  a  peculiarly  graceful  motion,  greet- 
ing every  one  with  a  smile  and  a  pleasant  word,  he  was  the 
personification  of  the  old-school  gentleman,  of  typical 
judicial  bearing. 

Another  house  that  in  its  day  was  one  of  the  finest  resi- 
dences of  the  town  was  the  Hunt  house,  which  stood  on 
tlie  site  of  the  Hampshire  County  Bank.  This  old  house, 
like  all  the  others  mentioned,  succumbed  to  the  advancing 
commercial  wave,  and  after  being  occupied  for  stores  many 
years  finally  disappeared  by  fire  in  1870.  This  house  was 
built  in  1770  by  Dr.  Ebenezer  Hunt,  son  of  Deacon  Eben- 
ezer,  and  remained  in  possession  of  the  Hunt  families 
exactly  one  hundred  years. 

The  residence  of  John  Clarke,  the  merchant  prince  and 
banker,  now  forming  a  part  of  the  Norwood  hotel,  was  one 
of  the  choice  places  of  the  town.  This,  also,  disappeared 
as  a  residence  when  its  room  was  needed  for  more  lucrative 
purposes. 

It  can  readily  be  seen  from  this  picture  of  these  eight 
principal  residences  in  the  very  center  of  the  town  what  a 
delightful  rural  aspect  it  had.  All  of  these  houses  were 
owned  by  men  of  the  well-to-do  class— not  rich,  as  wealth 
is  regarded  in  these  later  days,  but  who  were  possessed  of 
ample  means  when  measured  by  their  limited  wants  and 
plain  living.  Nearly  every  house  had  ample  grounds,  with 
beautiful  shade  trees.  The  view  from  the  principal  street 
to  the  east  and  south  was  then  less  obstructed  than  it  is 
now.  What  could  be  finer  than  the  view  from  the  resi- 
dences of  Judge  Lyman  and  Ebenezer  Hunt  before  any 
buildings  were  erected  in  front  of  them  ? 


104 

THE  OLD  CHURCH  THE  CHARM  OF  THE  TOWN. 

But  the  greatest  charm  of  the  town,  and  the  one  around 
whose  meraor}'  the  okl-timers  most  delight  to  linger,  was 
the  '•  Old  Church."    There  was  a  tender  sacredness  about  it 
that  touched  the  heart  of  the  inner  man.     Its  architecture 
seemed  perfect,  and  people  never  tired  of  looking  at  it.     It 
was  a  pleasing  object  to  look  upon  both  day  and  night,  and 
when  the  full  moon  shone  upon  its  front  its  charms  were 
brought  out  witli  ])eculiar  distinctness,  to  the  special  ad- 
miration of  the  beholders.     If   its  architecture  was  pleas- 
ing, its  painting  corresponded.    It  was  painted  white,  as  all 
country  churches  should  be,  symbolical  of  purity.     It  was 
the  pride  of  the  town,  and.  indeed,  of  the  people  of  all  the 
surrounding   region.      There   it   had  stood    for   sixty-four 
years,  a  majestic  edifice,  lofty  and  grand,  symmetrical  in 
form,  beautiful  in  appearance,  dedicated  to  public  worship, 
good  morals,  and  good  government,  a  never-failing  bene- 
diction upon  all  the   people.     There  the  people  had  assem- 
bled year  after  year,  when  it  was  the  only  house  of  worship 
in  the  town,  and  it  had  come  to  be  to  two  full  generations 
a  religious  home,   surrounded   with  many  tender  associa- 
tions.    In  the  broad  sunlight  of  a  midsummer  day,  June 
27,  1876,  while  thousands  of  people  gazed  upon  the  confla- 
gration, it  fell  a  victim  to  the  devouring  element,  and  was 
lost  to  view.     Many  who  witnessed  its  destruction  did  so 
with  heavy  hearts  and  tearful  eyes,  for  an  object  dear  to 
them  was  passing  forever  away. 

The  interior  of  this  church  was  like  that  of  all  the  Con- 
gregational meeting-houses  of  its  time  in  this  region.  The 
pulpit  was  high,  very  high,  almost  on  a  level  with  the  gal- 
leries. Winding  steps  led  to  it  on  either  side.  The  sing- 
ers' seats  were  in  the  front,  opposite  the  pulpit,  and  there 
was  a  gallery  on  both  sides.  The  pews  were  of  the  old- 
fashioned  style,  rather  high,  with  a  door  to  each,  which 
was  opened  and  shut  as  the  worshipers  passed  in  and  out. 
There  was  no  carpeting  on  the  gallery  floor  as  late  as  about 
1846,    and  the  tread   of  the  late-comers  there  resounded 


105 

through  the  edifice  with  a  noise  which  in  these  later  days 
wouhl  attract  general  attention.  I  have  a  distinct  recollec- 
tion  of  seeing,  and  hearing,  our  present  Col.  Joseph  B. 
Parsons,  then  a  lad  of  about  seventeen  years,  walking- 
down  the  east  gallery  about  the  year  184G,  after  the  begin- 
ning of  the  services.  There  was  vigor  in  his  step  then, 
and  weight,  too.  and  the  bare  floor  resounded  with  the  vig- 
orous tread  of  his  march. 

In  186"2  cjuite  extensive  changes  were  made  in  the  interior 
of  the  church,  under  the  direction  of  Charles  Delano  and 
Marvin  M.  French.  The  pulpit  was  lowered  several  feet, 
and  the  pews  were  reduced  in  height  and  the  doors  re- 
moved. The  letters  "  B.  M."  and  "  B.  W.",  which  desig- 
nated the  pews  in  the  rear  of  the  singers'"  seats  set  apart 
for  the  exclusive  use  of  black  men  and  black  women, 
were  removed,  and  since  then  there  has  been  no  exclusion 
of  colored  people  from  this  or  any  other  church  in  the 
town.  These  changes  greatly  improved  the  appearance 
and  convenience  of  the  interior. 

The  organ  was  introduced  in  1856.  This  was  a  great 
innovation,  and  some  of  the  older  and  more  conservative 
people  made  strenuous  opposition  to  it.  Among  them  were 
Deacon  Aaron  Breck  and  his  wife,  who  fought  it  as  a  need- 
less and  almost  sacrilegious  mode  of  worship.  They  were 
finally  overcome  by  the  advancing  modern  ideas,  but  they 
grieved  to  see  it  introduced. 

These  were  the  hey-days  of  the  old  church  choir.  There 
were  about  one  hundred  singers,  sometimes  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five.  They  were  trained  by  that  master  of 
church  music,  Dr.  George  W.  Lucas,  who  had  singing 
schools  in  nearly  all  the  towns  of  this  region.  What  a 
musical  inspiration  he  was  I  A  tall  man,  somewhat  spare, 
full  of  music  as  a  sponge  saturated  with  water,  he  led  the 
large  choir  on  state  occasions,  as  a  great  general  leads  a 
victorious  army.  Some  of  the  members  of  this  choir  were 
Deacon  Daniel  Kingsley,  Silas  M.  Smith,  William  K. 
Wright,  Phenix  Williams,  A.  H.  Palmer,  Dr.  T.  W. 
Meekins,  Elijah  D.  Clapp,  Justin  Smith,  Munroe  B.  Foote, 


106 

David  B.  Whitcomb.  Alvah  L.  Bartlett,  William  Strong, 
Alfred  J.  Munyan,  John  Lawrence.  In  previous  years 
some  of  the  leading  men  of  the  town  were  members  of  this 
c'lioir.  Among  them  were  Asahel  Pomeroy,  Hon.  Lewis 
Strong.  Deacon  John  P.  Williston.  Levi  Strong,  Joseph 
Strong.  Preserved  Bartlett,  Col.  Thomas  Pomeroy,  Ansel 
Bartlett.  Capt.  Jonathan  P.  Strong,  Charles  Edwards,  Sam- 
uel Stebbins.  Elihu  C.  Hunt.  Theodore  Bartlett,  and  Dea- 
con Jared  Clark.     Also,  Miss  Miriam  Wright. 

The  leading  lady  singers  wei'e  Mrs.  Charles  Delano.  Mrs. 
Dr.  Thomas  W.  Meekins.  Miss  Julia  Shepard,  daughter  of 
Col.  George  Shepard,  Miss  Carrie  Parsons,  daughter  of 
Capt.  Samuel  Parsons  and  now  Mrs.  J.  D.  Kellogg,  Miss 
Emma  Hubbard,  now  Mrs.  Charles  E.  Herrick,  Miss  Sarah 
Burt,  Miss  Louise  Smith,  now  Mrs.  Hildreth,  and  Miss 
Mary  Smith. 

The  old-fashioned  choir  had  its  instrumental  music. 
There  were  skilled  men  with  the  bass  viol,  the  violin,  and 
the  flute.  The  large  bass  viol,  owned  by  the  parish,  was 
operated  successively  by  Charles  Hooker,  William  Lavake 
and  Jabez  French ;  William  K.  Wright  and  Amos  H. 
Bullen  played  the  violin  ;  and  Dr.  Elisha  Mather,  Charles 
E.  Forbes,  Elisha  Turner  and  Watson  Loud  played  the 
flute. 

Among  the  leaders  of  the  choir  were,  at  different  times, 
Asahel  Pomeroy,  Enos  Wright,  Elias  Mann,  Levi  Strong, 
Charles  Porter,  Asa  Barr,  George  H.  King.  A.  H.  Palmer, 
W.  B.  C.  Pearsons,  J.  L.  Jenkins,  Silas  M.  Smith,  and  Dr. 
T.  W,  Meekins.  These  were  all  able  choristers,  but  none 
of  them  could  equal  Dr.  Lucas  in  the  essential  elements  of 
leadership.  Prof.  Hoadley  was  the  fiist  organist  and  was 
succeeded  by  Prof.  George  Kingsley. 

After  the  introduction  of  the  organ,  the  great  choir 
began  to  dwindle,  and,  though  the  more  modern  music  w^as 
more  artistic  and  more  acceptable  to  the  younger  people, 
there  were  many  of  the  old-timers  who  felt  a  touch  of  sad- 
ness at  the  departure  of  the  monster  collection  of  singers 
with  their  old-fashioned  church  music. 


107 

Til  1S50,  Deacon  Eli])lialet  Williams  presented  the  parish 
with  a  large  and  elegant  gas-burning  chandelier,  which 
was  hung  in  tlie  center  of  the  audience  room,  and  destroyed 
when  the  church  was  burned. 

This  church  was  the  most  spacious  edifice  of  its  class  in 
the  Connecticut  valley.  It  has  been  said  that  there  were 
14r)0  persons  assembled  within  its  walls  at  the  time  of  its 
dedication  in  181'^.  Cephas  Strong  was  the  sexton  for 
about  thirty  j^ears.  beginning  in  the  forties. 

I  was  present  at  the  funeral  of  Senator  Isaac  C.  Bates, 
M-arch  22,  1845.  He  died  at  Washington  on  the  IGth.  The 
funeral  was  held  in  the  old  church  in  the  afternoon,  and  an 
audience  filling  the  edifice  to  overflowing  attested  the  high 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  fellow-citizens.  Dan- 
iel Webster  was  at  that  time  the  other  Massachusetts  sena- 
tor, and  he  delivered  a  splendid  eulogy  of  Mr.  Bates  in  the 
senate. 

THE    OLD    COURT    HOUSE,    TOO,    WAS    ADMIRED. 

The  old  court  liouse.  also,  was  an  attractive  feature  of 
the  town.  Though  shaded  by  the  more  pretentious  "  Old 
Church,"  it  was  nevertheless  a  building  which  possessed 
mucli  attraction  in  its  architectural  appearance.  There 
was  a  suV)stautial.  massive  look  about  it  that  was  pleasing. 
On  its  top  was  a  belfry,  in  which  hung  the  bell  that  was 
regularly  rung  when  ''the  court"  was  seen  coming  down 
the  street  to  liold  a  session.  Surmounting  the  belfry  was  a 
weather  vane,  which  served  as  an  ornament  to  the  building 
and  a  help  to  the  people  in  forecasting  the  weather.  In 
front  was  a  beautiful  ornamental  flowering  tree,  which 
Squire  Wells,  the  gray-haired  clerk,  himself  set  to  adorn 
the  temple  of  justice.  Brown-stone  steps,  with  iron  rail- 
ings, led  to  its  only  entrance.  A  single  stairway  led  to  the 
court  room  above.  Each  room  was  provided  with  a  fire- 
place. Around  the  building  were  set  granite  posts,  stand- 
ing about  three  feet  high,  from  which  was  hung  from  post 
to  post  a  substantial  iron  chain. 


108 

I  shall  not  linger  here  to  recount  the  forensic  efforts  of 
the  eminent  judges  and  great  lawyers  who  had  lifted  their 
voices  in  behalf  of  justice  in  this  temple.  Chief  Justice 
Sliaw.  Judge  Horace  Gray.  Judge  Julius  Rockwell,  Judge 
Charles  A.  Dewey,  Judge  William  Allen,  Judge  George  N. 
Briggs,  and  many  others,  had  held  court  there  ;  and  in  its 
forum  had  appeared  Daniel  Webster,  Rufus  Choate,  E. 
Rock  wood  Hoar,  Lewis  Strong.  Charles  E.  Forbes,  Samuel 
Howe,  Charles  P.  Huntington.  George  Ashmun.  William 
G.  Bates.  George  T.  Davis.  Osmyn  Baker,  George  M. 
Steams,  Edward  Dickinson,  George  D.  Robinson,  Charles 
Delano,  Samuel  T.  Spaulding,  Edward  B.  Gillett,  and  a 
host  of  others,  less  distinguished,  but  not  less  gifted. 

The  dimensions  of  the  old  court  house  were  45  by  68  feet. 
The  interior  arrangement  was  this  :  On  the  lower  floor  the 
office  of  the  register  of  deeds  was  the  first  room  on  the 
right  of  the  entrance,  the  easterly  corner,  and  for  several 
years  previous  to  1859  it  was  used  for  the  court  of  insol- 
vency :  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  courts  came  next,  on  the 
right ;  the  probate  office  was  next,  and  in  the  rear,  in  the 
northeasterly  corner,  was  the  grand  jury  room  :  west  of 
the  grand  jury  room,  in  the  northwesterly  corner,  was  a 
small  room  used  for  witnesses.  This  arrangement  con- 
tinned  from  1823,  when  the  building  was  erected,  until 
1801,  when  the  register  of  deeds'  office  was  given  up  to  the 
use  of  the  clerk  of  courts  and  the  law  library,  being  con- 
nected with  his  office  by  an  arched  doorway  ;  this  room  was 
also  used  by  the  county  commissioners.  An  office  for  the 
register  of  deeds  was  made  in  185G  on  the  west  side  of  the 
building,  that  space  until  then  having  been  left  open.  The 
stairway  to  the  court-room  was  in  the  southwesterly  corner. 
The  court-room  above  was  a  spacious  room,  with  a  station- 
ary wooden  dock.  There  was  a  gallery  in  the  front  and  a 
room  on  each  side  in  the  rear  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
jurors,  heated  by  stoves.  The  door  was  in  the  center  of 
the  building,  and  the  dock  stood  in  the  center  of  the  room, 
opposite  the  door.  On  either  side  of  the  dock  was  a  seat 
for  deputy  sheriffs,  one  of  which  was  for  more  than  forty 


i09 

years  occupied  by  Ansel  Wright,  Senior,  or  liis  sons,  Georgo 
F.  Wright  and  Ansel  Wright,  Jr.  The  other  deputy 
sheriffs  most  in  attendance  were  S.  W.  Longley  of  Belcher- 
town,  Samuel  H.  Phelps  of  Ware,  Leonard  Cam])bell  of 
Plainfield,  George  B.  Gallond  of  Amherst,  and  Samuel  N. 
Miller  of  South  Hadley. 

There  were  three  rows  of  seats  for  the  jurors,  instead  of 
two  as  now,  and  their  seats  were  on  a  platform,  about 
a  foot  high.  There  was  no  witness  stand,  and  the  wit- 
.nesses  stood  at  the  end  of  the  bar  in  front  of  the  judges, 
one  hand  generally  resting  on  this  bar,  which  had  a  curved 
end.  Under  the  gallery  were  seats,  or  benches,  two  run- 
ning west  to  east,  and  three  running  south  to  north,  ex- 
tending up  so  as  to  cover  two  of  the  windows.  The  door 
to  the  cellar  was  in  the  southwesterly  corner,  under  the 
stairway  leading  to  the  court-room.  There  were  no  water 
closets  at  first,  but  these  were  put  in  after  the  water -works 
were  built  in  1871. 

When  the  old  court  house  was  torn  down  in  1886,  all  of 
the  furniture  in  it  was  removed  to  the  jail,  in  the  expecta- 
tion that  some  of  it  might  be  used  in  the  new  building, 
but  little  of  it  ever  came  back. 

The  grading  of  the  court  house  grounds  after  the  erection 
of  the  new  building,  was  done  by  Flavel  Gaylord  of  Am- 
herst, one  of  the  county  commissioners,  who  brought  over 
his  yoke  of  oxen  to  do  the  work  and  drove  them  himself. 

There  was  no  basement  or  cellar  when  the  building  was 
erected,  but  when  furnaces  were  put  in  an  excavation  was 
made  sufficiently  large  to  accommodate  the  two  heaters 
and  for  the  storage  of  coal  and  some  old  records. 

For  thirty  years  William  E.  Partiidge  was  the  messenger 
in  this  old  court  house,  and  was  succeeded  in  J  872.  by  Ed- 
win T.  Hervey,  the  present  official.  Mr.  Partridge  was 
also  during  a  part  of  his  court  house  service,  watchman  for 
the  banks.  He  is  now  living  with  his  son  in  Holyoke,  in 
his  eighty- seventh  year. 


IK) 


THE   COURT   SESSIONS. 

Ill  the  old  days  the  sessions  of  the  courts  were  made 
more  of  than  they  are  in  these  later  times.  Many  of  the 
lawj^ers  came  here  from  other  counties  and  remained  a  long 
time  awaiting  their  turn  to  try  their  cases.  They  could 
not  return  home  at  night,  as  tliey  can  now.  Usually  they 
stopped  at  the  Mansion  House,  where  the  Catholic  church 
now  stands,  kept  by  Capt.  Jonathan  Brewster.  The  even- 
ings were  spent  together  at  the  hotel,  or  by  invitation  at 
the  home  of  one  of  the  local  lawyers.  It  was  an  interest- 
ing sight  to  see  the  judges  and  the  lawyers,  each  with  his 
green  bag  containing  the  papers  relating  to  the  cases  he 
had  for  trial,  headed  by  the  high  sheriff,  with  his  long  staff 
of  office,  and  cockade  on  his  hat,  wending  their  way  down 
to  the  court  house.  When  the  ])rocessioii  was  in  sight,  the 
court  house  bell  was  rung.  This  was  the  signal  for  a  gen- 
eral drift  toward  the  old  temple  of  justice,  and  from  every 
direction  jurors,  deputy  sheriff's,  witnesses,  and  spectators 
were  seen  wending  their  way  thitherward.  This  procession 
of  judges  and  lawyers  with  its  attending  features  gave  a 
dignity  to  the  court  sittings  which  is  lacking  in  these  mod- 
ern times. 

THE    COURT    HOUSE    LOT. 

That  portion  of  the  land  which  forms  the  central  part  of 
the  court  house  lot  was  given  to  the  county  in  1767  by  fifty- 
eight  citizens  of  Northampton  and  one  citizen  of  Hatfield. 
It  was  purchased  of  Elisha  Alvord,  a  shop-keeper,  whose 
house  and  barn  stood  on  tiie  lot.  There  was  a  movement 
in  progress  to  erect  a  new  court  house.  It  w^as  proposed  to 
locate  it  in  the  little  park  which  lies  in  front  of  Smith  col- 
lege, and  the  work  of  building  was  begun  there,  when  this 
gift  of  laud  secured  its  erection  where  the  court  house  now 
stands.  The  price  paid  for  the  land  was  130  pounds,  equal 
to  $650.  The  donors  were  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Timothy 
D wight,  Jr.,  Seth  Pomeroy,  Caleb  Strong,  Solomon  Stod- 
dard, Samuel  Clarke,  Ephraim  Wright,  William  Lyman, 


Ill 

Seth  Lyman,  John  King.  Samuel  Parsons,  Joiiathan  Allin, 
Selah  Wright,  Joseph  Allen,  Joseph  Cook,  Joseph  Lyman, 
Benjamin  Sheldon,  Jr.,  Quartus  Pomeroy.  Elislia  Lyman, 
Gideon  Cooke,  George  Hodge,  Hezekiah  Russell,  Thomas 
Bridgman,  Asahel  Clapp,  Seth  Clapp.  Elijah  Southwell, 
Abner  Barnard,  Aaron  Wright,  Daniel  Hitchcock,  William 
Mather,  Eliphaz  Clapp,  Levi  Shepard,  Eliphaz  Strong,  El- 
nathan  Wright,  Joseph,  Parsons,  Simeon  Parsons,  Hains 
Kingsle}^  Aaron  Kingsley,  Timothy  Parsons,  Enos  Kings- 
ley,  Asa  Wright,  Josiah  Parsons,  Jr. ,  Titus  King,  Oliver 
Lyman,  Elihu  Lj'man,  Elkanah  Burt,  Ebenezer  Clapp, 
Elihu  Clark,  Pliny  Pomeroy,  Abijah  Wait,  John  Parsons, 
Jr.,  Simeon  Clapp,  Joseph  Clapp,  Joseph  Hutchins,  Lem- 
uel Lj^man,  David  Lyman,  Elias  Lyman,  Jr.,  Asahel 
Danks,  all  of  Northampton,  and  Samuel  Fairfield  of  Hat- 
field. The  latter  donor  was  Capt.  Samuel  Fairfield,  who 
kept  a  tavern  on  the  road  to  Williamsburg  and  the  west,  a 
little  this  side  of  Haydenville,  then  within  the  limits  of 
Hatfield. 

The  deed  conveys  the  land  to  the  county  '"  for  the  public 
use  of  erecting  a  court  house  thereon,  for  the  sole  use  and 
benefit  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Hampshire, 
*  *  *  being  the  lot  whereon  I  now  dwell,  *  *  *  fQ^. 
the  purpose  of  a  green  or  common,  and  for  the  erection  of 
a  court  house,  or  court  houses,  thereon,  as  shall  be  ordered 
by  the  people,"  *  *  *  and  whenever  the  courts  shall  be 
moved  to  some  other  town  or  place,  ''then  the  same  shall 
be  and  remain  as  an  open,  uninclosed  common,  for  the  use 
and  benefit  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Northampton, 
in  succession  forever,  for  erecting  any  meeting-house  for 
public  worship,  or  town  house  for  town  afi^airs  or  meetings, 
and  for  no  other  purpose  whatsoever." 

The  land  thus  conveyed  comprised  about  one- half  of  the 
present  court  house  lot,  and  was  not  deemed  of  sufficient 
size  by  the  court,  which  ordered  the  condemnation  of  an 
irregular  strip  completely  surrounding  the  Alvord  lot.  A 
court  house  was  then  erected  on  the  westerly  side  of  the 
lot.     The  old   court   house,   which   was   then   superceded, 


113 

stood  on  the  easterly  line  of  the  condemned  land,  and 
farther  down.  The  new  court  house  stood  until  1822,  when 
it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  A  new  court  house,  the  one  shown 
in  the  frontispiece,  was  then  erected,  and  that  stood  until 
1886,  when  it  was  torn  down  to  make  way  for  the  present 
stone  edifice.  The  deed  of  the  Alvord  lot  was  placed  on 
record  in  the  registry  of  deeds  in  Springfield,  and  with  the 
lapse  of  time  all  memory  of  it  disappeared.    The  town  had 


PLAN   OF  COURT   HOUSE  LOT,    1767. 

erected  a  town  hall  on  the  lot  and  apparently  considered 
itself  a  joint  owner.  Until  1814  the  town  meetings  were 
held  in  the  court  house.-  In  that  year  a  town  hall  was 
erected.  It  stood  sixty  feet  east  of  the  court  house,  on  a 
line  with  the  court  house  and  meeting  house,  was  of  brick, 
60  by  30  feet.  It  was  built  by  contract  with  Capt.  Isaac 
Damon,  and  cost  $3,500. 

When  the  fire  which  destroyed  the  old  church  and  the 
X"Oof  of  the  Whitney  building  in  1876  was  in  progress,  fears 


113 

Were  entertained  that  the  court  house  was  in  danger,  and 
the  work  of  removing  the  papers  of  value  stored  in  unsafe 
places  was  begun.  In  replacing  them  some  of  the  packa- 
ges became  broken  and  the  papers  were  scattered.  The 
court  messenger,  E.  T.  Hervey,  in  examining  tliese  loose 
papers,  discovered  the  original  deed  of  the  Alvord  lot  and 
called  the  attention  of  the  county  commissioners  to  it. 
Col.  Edwards,  the  then  chairman  of  the  board,  had  it 
placed  on  the  records  of  this  county.  Soon  afterward  the 
old  town  hall  was  removed,  the  present  court  house  was 
erected  and  the  lot  graded  to  its  present  shape. 

A  plan  of  the  court  house  lot,  showing  the  Alvord  lot, 
and  the  land  taken  by  condemnation,  is  on  the  county 
records  in  the  office  of  the  registry  of  deeds. 

The  accompanying  cut  (p.  112)  is  a  copy  of  this  plan.  In 
the  center  is  seen  the  Alvord  lot  conveyed  to  the  county  by 
citizens  of  the  town  in  1767.  The  outside  lines  describe 
the  boundary  of  the  land  taken  at  that  time  by  order  of 
the  court.  It  was  an  irregular  shaped  lot,  made  so,  proba- 
bly, by  the  peculiar  formation  of  the  land,  there  being 
then  a  deep  gully  or  ravine  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  running 
from  the  King  street  brook  across  Main  street,  to  the  rear 
of  Shop  Row,  and  connecting  with  Mill  river.  No  one 
seems  to  know  how  the  court  house  lot  came  to  be  in  its 
present  nearly  square  shape.  There  is  no  record  of  any 
further  accession  of  lanrj,  by  order  of  the  court  or  other- 
wise, and  it  is  probable  that  the  county  commissioners,  in 
enclosing  the  lot,  made  it  more  shapely  by  leaving  a  por- 
tion in  the  highway  at  the  northerly  corner  and  taking  an 
equal  amount  at  other  points,  where  it  would  not  interfere 
with  the  public  travel  (at  the  easterly  corner),  by  agree- 
ment with  the  selectmen  of  Northampton,  The  tree  shown 
in  the  southwesterly  corner  of  the  Alvord  lot  is  described 
in  the  deed  as  a  "  young  cottonwood  tree  in  the  corner  of 
said  house-lot,"  and  was  the  starting  point  in  describing 
the  boundaries  of  the  lot.  The  old  court  house  (1737) 
stood  about  where  the  present  sidewalk  is  along  Main  St. 


f:~^S^  - 


WARNER   TAVERN — 1794  -  -  1870. 

The  Warner  House,  shown  in  the  above  picture,  stood  on 
the  site  of  the  present  Mansion  House.  It  was  built  in 
1794  by  Asahel  Poineroy.  It  was  known  as  "  Warner's 
Coffee  House,"  when  kept  by  Oliver  Warner.  It  stood  on 
a  site  that  has  been  occupied  for  a  tavern  from  the  early 
settlement  of  the  town.  Col.  Seth  Pomeroy  kejit  a  tavern 
there  one  hundred  and  forty  years  ago,  and  his  son,  Asaliel 
Pomeroy,  succeeded  him.  Both  were  distinguished  men. 
This  old  Warner  tavern  was  for  many  years  the  principal 
public  house  in  the  town.  As  shown  in  the  picture,  there 
was  a  piazza  in  front  (lovering  two  stories.  In  front  of  the 
center  of  the  house  there  was  a  large  elm  tree,  from  which 
was  hung  a  large  lamp  for  lighting  at  night.  A  driveway 
to  the  barns  in  the  rear  was  at  the  easterly  end  of  the  tav- 
ern. To  the  left  were  a  small  wooden  building,  used  for  a 
store,  and  the  Lyman  block,  owned  by  Judge  Joseph  Ly- 
man and  used  for  various  purposes.  The  Gazette  office 
was  for  a  long  time  previous  to  1853  in  the  second  story, 
and   Amos  H.    Bnllen,  Lewis  Mclntyre,  Orrin   Kingsley, 

1  1  4 


I 


115 

the  Ferry  Brothers  (Lemuel  C.  and  Sydenham  N.),  and 
Clark  &  Parsons,  druggists,  were  successively  occupants  of 
the  lower  floor.  On  July  18,  1870,,  one  of  the  most  de- 
structive fires  that  ever  occurred  in  Northampton,  destroj^ed 
this  okl  Warner  tavern,  together  with  the  Todd  block  on 
the  east  and  the  Lyman  block  and  Judge  Lyman  house  on 
the  west.  After  the  Warner  House  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
the  Fitch  Brothers  of  Hatfield  (John  T.  and  George  C.) 
bought  the  property  and  erected  the  present  Mansion 
House. 

Li  the  picture,  the  signs,  "  Warner  House,"  cover  more 
than  the  tavern  proper.  This  was  because 'portions  of  the 
second  and  third  stories  of  the  side  buildings  were  used  for 
tavern  sleeping  rooms.  The  original  tavern  building  was 
that  part  of  the  picture  covered  by  the  piazza. 

At  the  time  of  its  destruction  by  fire,  the  Judge  Lyman 
house  was  occupied  by  Levi  Morton,  restaurant-keeper, 
Joseph  C  Williams,  coal  dealer,  E.  N.  Sampson  &  Son, 
grocers  and  fish  and  vegetable  dealers,  and  L.  D.  Merrill 
and  Patrick  Dewey,  saloon-keepers. 

Some  further  particulars  of  these  old  buildings  are  given 
on  page  46. 


A   VETERAN   PRINTER. 

There  were  some  veteran  printers  in  the  olden  times, 
among  them  John  and  Lyman  Metcalf  and  Joseph  C. 
Kneeland,  but  none  of  them  surpassed  our  veteran  printer 
of  to-daj",  Andrew  P.  Hancock,  of  the  Gazette  Printing 
Company.  For  thirty-two  years  he  has  remained  in  one 
place  in  that  office,  where  he  learned  his  trade.  Summer 
and  winter  have  found  him  at  his  post.  He  set  every  type 
in  the  two  volumes  of  Trumbull's  History  of  Northamp- 
ton, 1327  pages,  and  he  set  every  type  in  this  book  of  Rem- 
iniscences. And  yet,  his  eye  is  not  dimmed  nor  his  natural 
force  abated. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


CATTLE  SHOW  DINNERS — REAL  ESTATE  VALUES  —  JENNY  LIND  COMES  TO 
TOWN — CHANGES  ON  SHOP  ROW — SOCIETY  FOR  DETECTION  OF  THIEVES 
AND  ROBBERS  — OBSERVANCli;  OF  SUNDAY  —  THE  OLD  CHURCH  AND 
COURT  HOUSE  WEATHER  VANES^AN  OLD  STORY  EXPLODED — WATER- 
ING PLACES  —  SNUFF-TAKING  — THE  COURT  STOPPED  A  NOISE  —  OLD 
SAVINGS  BANK  STARTED — SETH  PARSONS — JUDGE  HODGES  —  LAWYER 
CHILSON — RINGING   OF  DEPOT  BELL — SEWING   SOCIETIES. 

Oh,  would  I  were  a  boy  again,  , 

When  life  seemed  formed  of  sunny  years, 

And  all  the  heart  then  knew  of  pain 
Was  swept  away  in  transient  tears! 

— Mark  Lemon. 

CATTLE   SHOW   DINNERS. 

Great  attention  was  paid  in  tlie  years  around  1850  to  the 
cattle  show  dinners.  The  shows  were  held,  as  now,  on  two 
days,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  there  was  a 
grand  dinner  given  in  "  Agricnltural  hall"  in  Kirkland's 
block  on  Pleasant  street,  where  al30ut  two  hundred  gentle- 
men and  ladies  assembled.  There  was  usually  some  dis- 
tinguished orator  from  abroad  to  lend  the  charm  of  his 
eloquence  to  the  occasion.  In  1852  Edward  Everett  was 
the  principal  speaker,  and  he  then  and  there  made  the  pre- 
diction that  in  fifty  years  from  that  time  Holyoke  would 
have  a  population  of  50,000  inhabitants.  The  present  year 
completes  the  fifty  years,  and  it  will  almost  see  the  lit- 
eral fulfilment  of  the  ex-Governor's  prophecy.  The  writer 
was  present  at  this  dinner  and  heard  Governor  Everett's 
speech.     The  Governor  was  a  fine  looking  man,  with  gray 

•      116 


117 

hair,  a  well  built  figure,  and  spoke  with  that  grace  and  ease 
of  which  he  was  the  perfect  master.  William  O.  Gorham, 
a  lawyer  and  a  scholarly  man,  was  the  secretary  of  the 
society,  and  was  the  leader  in  these  after-dinner  exercises. 
He  made  thorough  pre|:)aration  for  his  part  of  the  literary 
feast  and  was  often  heard  rehearsing  in  his  office  his  forth- 
coming remarks.  He  had  a  fine  gift  of  oratory,  and  was 
especially  successful  on  these  forensic  occasions.  Agricul- 
tural hall  took  its  name  from  these  agricultural  dinners. 
Governor  Everett's  prophecy  is  given  in  full  on  page  97. 

REAL   ESTATE    VALUES. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  the  business  life  of  the  town  has 
been  the  advance  of  the  value  of  real  estate  in  the  central 
section,  especially  of  that  portion  devoted  to  business  pur- 
poses. I  have  seen  these  values  doubled,  and  then  doubled 
again,  and  even  then  leaving  a  safe  margin  for  a  further 
advance.  The  increase  has  been  slow,  but  steady,  more 
perhaps  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  than  before.  When  I 
published  the  Courier  in  the  Whitney  building  fifty  years 
ago  I  could  have  bought  that  property  for  $2800.  When 
the  church  was  burned  in  1876,  the  roof  of  the  Whitney 
building  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  Mr.  Eames,  besides 
getting  his  insurance  on  the  building,  sold  the  land  to  the 
savings  bank  for  -SOOOO.  This  is  about  the  way  real  estate 
values  have  gone  all  through  the  center.  While  investors 
have  been  seeking  large  profits  in  Western  real  estate,  they 
have  overlooked  the  safer  and  not  less  valuable  opportuni- 
ties that  were  open  to  them  here. 

JENNY    LIND    COMES    TO   TOWN. 

One  of  the  famous  visitors  to  Northampton  was  the  dis- 
tinguished ''Swedish  Nightingale,''  Jenny  Lind.  Ex- 
Presidents,  Governors,  Senators,  a  distinguished  exile  from 
a  foreign  land,  and  other  notables  had  come  and  been  hon- 
ored by  the  people  of  the  town,  but  none  of  them  made 
such  a  lasting  impression  upon  the  people,  or  left  more 


lis 

pleasant  memories,  than  the  sweet  singer  from  Sweden. 
I  remember  her  coming  well.  She  was  married  to  Otto 
Goldschmidt  at  Boston,  Feb.  5,  1852,  and  came  directly  to 
Northampton.  I  was  on  the  train  which  brought  them 
here  from  Springfield  and  sat  two  or  three  seats  behind 
them.  It  was  known  on  the  train  that  tliey  had  just  been 
married,  though  the  event  was  a  surprise  to  the  public. 
They  went  at  once  to  Round  Hil],'\vhere  they  remained 
four  months.  Her  marriage  did  not  change  her  name  with 
the  public,  and  she  was  known  as  Jenny  Lind  after  her 
marriage  as  much  as  before.  She  gave  two  concerts  hei'e, 
one  in  the  old  church  July  3,  1851,  before  her  marriage, 
and  the  other  in  the  town  hall  in  May,  1852,  at  the  close  of 
her  honeymoon  residence  here.  Those  were  memorable 
occasions.  Jenny  Lind's  fame  was  then  at  its  zenith  and 
her  praises  were  on  all  lips.  The  concert  in  the  old  church 
was  unquestionably  the  greatest  musical  event  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  town.  People  of  distinction  came  from  far  and 
near  and  the  church  was  ]3acked  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
A  large  platform  was  built  around  the  pulpit  and  an 
entrance  was  made  through  a  window  on  the  Gothic  street 
corner.  Just  before  the  hour  of  the  concert  a  terrible 
thunder  and  rain  storm  came  up,  which  would  have  almost 
ruined  any  other  gathering,  but  it  had  no  eifect  upon  this 
one.  This  concert  was  a  great  success,  musically  and  finan- 
cially, and  so  was  the  later  one  in  the  town  hall.  The 
echoes  of  her  sweet  singing  of  the  "Bird  Song.''  "Sweet 
Home,"  and  "Coming  through  the  Rye,"  are  still  heard  in 
memory,  after  the  lapse  of  half  a  century,  by  those  wdio 
were  so  fortunate  as  to  be  within  the  charm  of  her  wonder- 
ful voice. 

CHANGES   ON    SHOP    ROW. 

Most  of  the  merchants  doing  business  on  Shop  Row  have 
changed  often.  In  the  last  sixteen  years  there  have  been 
great  changes.  Of  the  twentj^-eight  individuals  and  firms 
doing  business  there  in  1886,  only  four  are  there  now  just 
as  they  were  then.     The  others  have  disa})peared  entirely, 


no 

or  have  made  changes  in  their  firms,  but  retaining  one  of 
the  oki  members.  Of  those  who  were  there  in  any  capacity 
in  1845.  only  one  is  there  now.  That  one  is  the  veteran 
bookseller.  Sidney  E.  Bridgman,  who  came  as  a  boy  to 
Butler's  bookstore  in  April,  lS4-i,  fifty-eight  years  ago. 
Merritt  Clark,  the  clothier,  came  in  1846,  as  an  apprentice 
to  Charles  Smith,  and  he  is  there  yet.  The  same  year  came 
William  H.  Todd,  who  became  a  clerk  in  the  store  of 
Luther  I.  Washburn.  Closely  following  him  came  Oscar 
Edwards,  the  white-haired  president  of  the  Northampton 
bank,  who  came  here  from  the  summit  of  Chesterfield  hill 
in  lSo2  aiul  began  business  as  druggist  and  grocer  in  com- 
pany with  John  W.  Wilson  in  the  store  now  occupied  by 
L.  S.  Davis.  All  others  now  on  the  Row  are  comparatively 
new-comers,  though  some  of  them  have  been  here  many 
years.  It  requires  a  half-century  man  to  count  for  much 
in  these  reminiscences.  Men  come  and  go — death  removes 
some,  others  are  removed  by  financial  distress,  but  the 
stores  remain,  and  will  remain,  through  the  coming  gener- 
ations. Here  are  four  of  our  business  men,  who  have  been 
here  a  half-century,  and  are  still  living,  and  three  of  them 
may  yet  be  found  "at  the  old  stand." 

THIEF   AND    ROBBER    SOCIETY. 

A  peculiar  organization  was  that  of  the  "  Society  for  the 
detection  of  thieves  and  robbers."  This  society  was  formed 
in  1782  and  was  continued  until  about  1850  or  1800,  when  it 
ceased  to  exist  by  the  voluntary  action  of  the  members.  It 
was  an  organization  of  business  men  of  the  town,  and  had 
a  clerk,  treasurer,  board  of  seven  directors,  and  twelve 
"pursuers."  It  protected  only  the  property  of  its  mem- 
bers, each  of  whom  paid  $2  to  join  the  organization.  In 
its  early  years  it  was  of  much  assistance  in  running  down 
thieves  and  robbers,  but  as  the  police  force  of  the  town 
became  more  efficient  its  mission  departed  and  there  was  no 
further  use  for  its  existence.  Its  membership  in  1844  em- 
braced—Augustus Clarke,  clerk  ;  John  Clarke,  treasurer  ; 


120 

Samuel  F.  Lyman,  J.  H.  Butler.  Benjamin  E.  Cook, 
Winthrop  Hlllyer,  Harvey  Kirkland,  Oliver  Warner, 
George  Sliei)ar(l,  directors  :  and  Cornelius  Delano,  Asaliel 
Wood,  Hiram  Ferry.  Samuel  Parsons.  Ansel  Wriglit,  Lewis 
Bliss,  Christopher  Wriglit,  William  W.  Partridge,  Edwin 
Holdridge,  David  Damon,  Willard  A.  Arnold,  Jonathan 
A.  Clark,  pursuers. 

OBSERVANCE    OF    SUNDAY. 

One  of  the  most  marked  changes  in  the  customs  of  peo- 
ple in  the  last  sixty  years  is  seen  in  the  observance  of  Sun- 
day. In  the  olden  times,  Sunday  was  regarded  not  merely 
as  a  day  of  rest,  but  as  a  day  for  public  worship.  Every 
person  so  situated  as  to  be  able  to  attend  church  service 
was  expected  to  be  in  the  meeting-house,  both  forenoon 
and  afternoon.  To  be  walking  or  riding  for  pleasure  was 
deemed  to  be  a  desecration  of  the  day.  Reading  the  bible 
was  always  in  order  on  that  day,  and  the  reading  of  other 
books  and  secular  papers  was  not  considered  proper.  There 
was  a  rigidity  in  the  prescribed  manner  of  observing  the 
day  that  was  especially  distasteful  to  young  people.  When 
a  boy,  I  was  always  glad  to  have  Sunday  pass.  I  was 
brought  up  in  the  strict  manner  of  those  times.  Going  to 
the  Sunday  and  evening  meetings  was  the  regular  and 
invariable  practice.  When  a  boy  under  ten  years  of  age, 
while  living  on  the  farm  on  the  hillside  near  Searsville,  in 
Williamsburg,  it  was  the  privilege  of  myself  and  brothers 
to  go  fishing  on  Saturdays,  when  school  did  not  keep.  Our 
mother  was  very  strict  in  her  religious  training  of  her  boys. 
One  Saturday,  when  our  minds  were  absorbed  with  the 
anticipated  pleasures  of  the  day's  fishing,  we  were  required 
to  learn  several  verses  of  the  bible  before  we  started  for  the 
Meekins  brook.  We  were  in  no  mood  for  that  task,  and 
we  stoutly  rebelled.  But  it  was  of  no  use  to  resist.  It  was 
bible  learning,  or  no  fishing,  and  squirm  and  twist  as  we 
did,  we  had  to  learn  the  prescribed  portion  of  the  sacred 
scriptures  before  we  could  leave  the  house  to  dig  bait. 


121 

When  I  came  to  Northampton  I  dreaded  the  Sundays. 
They  were  days  of  restraint.  I  had  always  attended  the 
Methodist  meetings  in  Williamsl)urg.  The  Methodist 
church  in  that  place  was  then  very  flourishing.  The  house 
was  filled  on  Sundays.  Among  the  congregation  were  the 
families  of  Joel  and  Josiah  Hayden,  Hiram  Nash,  Stephen 
Meekins,  Ludo  Thayer,  Thomas  Ives,  Prescott  Williams, 
John  Williams,  Quartus  Kingsley,  Chester  Sheldon,  Moses 
Ferry,  Marcus  Way,  Mather  Warren,  Pliny  Warren.  Will- 
iam Loomis,  John  Miller,  Reuben  Luce,  R.  H.  Fairchild, 
Luther  Loomis,  Pardon  Bradford,  Moses  Hannum.  Rev. 
David  Mason,  an  Englishman,  who  had  charge  of  the  broad- 
cloth factory  at  the  upper  end  of  the  village,  used'  to 
preach  occasionally.  He  had  a  familiar,  persuasive  way  of 
talking  to  his  hearers,  and  would  lean  upon  one  elbow, 
bending  over  toward  the  audience,  when  he  made  some 
special  pleading  of  an  impressive  nature. 

This  is  to  show  the  degree  of  attention  paid  to  religious 
matters  in  those  times.  It  is  diflferent  now.  Sunday  is 
now  regarded  more  as  a  day  of  rest,  of  relaxation  from 
labor,  of  recreation,  than  as  sacred  time.  Labor  ceases, 
but  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  goes  on.  The  steam  and  elec- 
tric cars  run,  and  are  crowded.  The  livery  stables  find 
that  Sunday  is  their  most  profitable  day.  People  stroll  the 
fields  and  games  of  base  ball  are  sometimes  played  in  by- 
places.  The  attendance  at  the  churches  is  much  less  in 
proportion  to  the  population  than  it  was  in  the  olden  times. 

Is  there  less  respect  for  religion  now  than  formerl}^  ?  I 
think  not.  The  change  has  come  in  the  interpretation  and 
perception  of  sacred  things.  There  is  just  as  much  regard 
for  the  things  that  are  honest,  and  true,  and  good,  now,  as 
there  was  in  the  former  times.  There  is  more  intelligence 
among  the  masses  of  people — people  read  more,  think 
more,  with  a  broader  range,  because  of  the  larger  opportu- 
nities they  have  of  obtaining  information.  To  believe 
otherwise,  is  to  admit  that  our  libraries,  and  institutions  of 
learning,  and  varied  and  enlarged  literature,  are  a  failure. 


122 


THE    METHODISTS   IN   THE   TOWN    HALL, 

The  first  few  years  of  my  residence  in  Northampton  I 
attended  the  Sunday  services  hehl  in  the  oki  town  hall  by 
the  Methodists.  The  congregation  was  small  and  the 
society  financially  weak.  There  was  a  choir  in  the  north- 
easterly corner  of  the  hall,  and  William  Lavake,  an  old 
shoemaker,  who  lived  on  upper  King  street,  played  the  bass 
viol,  an  instrument  as  tall  as  he  was. 


THE    WEATHER    VANES. 

One  of  the  old-time  familiar  features  of  the  town,  whicli 
has  disappeared  with  the  passing  years,  were  the  weather 
vanes  on  the  steeple  of  the  old  church  and  the  tower  of  the 
old  court  house.  Those  vanes  were  very  useful  to  the  vil- 
lagers, and  wei'e  watched  with  an  interest  exceeded  only  by 
that  which  centered  in  the  town  clock  in  the  old  church 
tower.  They  remained  there  until  those  buildings  were 
destroyed.  The  vane  on  the  church  came  down  with  the 
steeple  when  the  house  was  burned,  and  was  saved,  though 
in  a  ruined  condition.  It  is  still  held  as  a  relic  of  the  old 
temple,  and  is  safely  stored  in  the  museum  at  Memorial 
Hall.  The  staff  stood  nine  feet  high,  and  the  gilded  vane, 
pointed  and  split  at  the  end,  was  five  feet  in  length.  The 
lettei-s  N,  S,  E  and  W,  denoting  the  points  of  the  compass, 
had  a  spread  of  nearly  six  feet.  The  gilded  ball  at  the  top 
was  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  was  perched  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five  feet  above  the  ground. 

The  court-kouse  vane  was  smaller  than  the  vane  on  the 
church  steeple.  When  the  court  house  was  taken  down. 
Dr.  Roberts  wanted  the  vane  to  put  up  on  his  barn  and 
thus  preserve  it  as  a  relic,  and  Col,  Edwards,  then  on  the 
board  of  county  commissioners,  agreed  to  let  him  have  it, 
but  he  never  obtained  it,  and  the  last  seen  of  it  was  when 
it  passed  up  Bridge  street  on  the  way  to  Amherst, 


1S3 


AN    OLD    STORY    EXPLODED. 

Northampton  has  been  called  a  "  sleepy  town"  by  peo- 
ple who  have  not  understood  her  people.  The  remark  has 
often  been  made,  to  support  the  story  of  sleepiness,  that 
the  layout  of  the  railroad  from  Boston  to  Albany  was  first 
made  through  Northampton,  and  that  the  road  was  driven 
away  by  the  hostility  of  the  people  of  the  town  toward  it. 
This  is  not  true.  I  have  never  been  able  to  find  any  evi- 
dence to  support  it  — not  the  least.  The  route  was  laid 
where  tlie  road  was  built,  because  that  was  the  natural 
place  for  it.  There  is  no  route  that  would  take  in  North- 
ampton that  would  be  at  all  practicable.  The  road  must, 
of  necessity,  pass  through  Worcester,  (the  line  to  that  city 
was  built  by  the  Boston  and  Worcester  company)  and  to 
])ass  through  Northampton  and  cross  the  mountains  to 
Pittsfield.  by  way  of  Hinsdale,  (the  only  place  where  it 
could  cross),  would  require  a  long  detour  and  involve  a 
large  additional  cost.  As  this  story  has  long  been  on  its 
travels,  and  occasionally  breaks  out  when  some  one  wishes 
to  give  the  town  a  blow,  it  is  here  stated,  and  the  statement 
is  reiterated,  that  there  is  no  truth  in  it.  The  town  has 
always  welcomed  the  railroads.  It  took  a  lively  interest  in 
the  building  of  the  Connecticut  River  road  and  the  New 
Haven  and  Northampton  road,  and  subscribed  foi-  300,000 
shares  of  the  stock  of  the  Massachusetts  Central  road.  All 
this,  after  sinking  §150,000  in  the  canal  to  New  Haven. 
Instead  of  the  town  having  been  a  ''sleepy*'  place,  it  has 
been  exceptionally  wide-awake  and  progressive,  so  far  as 
regards  the  canal  and  the  railroads. 

WATERING   PLACES— THE   LICKINGWATER   CROSSING. 

In  1840,  and  for  about  twenty  years  later,  there  was  a 
driveway  through  Mill  river  just  below  the  old  South  street 
bridge.  There  was  a  gentle  slope  of  the  land  on  either  side 
of  the  river,  so  that  teams  could  easily  cross.  On  the 
southerly  side  there  was  a  considerable  depression  of  the 


124 

land,  extending  tlii'ongh  the  center  of  the  little  park  in 
front  of  the  Parsons  house,  which  was  filled  in  and  graded 
to  its  present  shape  about  twenty  years  ago.  A  road  ran 
on  the  easterly  side  of  this  park,  east  of  the  large  elm  tree, 
connecting  South  and  Maple  streets,  which  was  closed 
when  the  ravine  was  filled.  This  Lickingwater  crossing 
was  much  used.  It  was  in  use  from  the  earliest  settlement 
of  the  town.  It  was  known  as  the  "  Lickingwater"  cross- 
ing, and  was  the  principal  place  for  watering  horses  and 
oxen  in  the  center  of  the  town.  There  was  a  water-trough 
near  the  ohi  town  hall,  supplied  from  a  reservoir  on  Pros- 
pect street,  where  the  residence  of  A.  McCallum  now 
stands.  This  water  supply  was  a  private  affair  and  was 
not  reliable.  There  was  another  water-trongh  at  the  foot 
of  Fort  hill,  supplied  from  a  spring.  This  was  nicely 
shaded  by  trees.  Another  watering  place  M^as  in  the  river 
at  "  Welch  End,"'  below  the  bridge.  Aside  from  these  four 
public  places,  there  were  no  others  in  the  center  where 
horses  could  be  watered.  The  ''Lickingwater"  crossing 
was  not  much  used  after  the  railroad  to  New  Haven  was 
built  in  1855,  and  was  closed  to  the  public  when  the  dike 
was  built  in  1857. 

SNUFF-TAKING. 

The  use  of  snuff  was  common  sixtv  years  ago.  Loril- 
lard's  snuff'  was  as  famous  as  Day  &  Martin's  blacking, 
and  large  quantities  of  it  were  sold  at  the  stores.  The 
women  were  great  snuff-takers.  Each  woman  carried  a 
snuff-box,  and  it  was  passed  around  freely  on  visiting 
occasions.  The  custom  gradually  disappeared,  until  thirty 
to  forty  years  ago  a  snuff-taker  was  rarely  seen.  Dr.  Dan- 
iel Thompson  kept  up  the  practice  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
but  only  in  a  genteel  way.  He  carried  a  small  silver  snuft'- 
box  in  his  vest  pocket,  and  only  occasionally  took  a  small 
])inch,  from  force  of  habit  more  than  for  any  other  reason. 


12,^ 

THE  COURT   STOPS   THE   NOISY   TINNERS. 

One  summer  day.  in  the  fifties,  wlien  court  was  being 
held  in  the  okl  court  house,  and  W.  A.  Arnold  had  a  tin- 
shop  in  the  Whitney  building,  the  judge  was  annoyed 
by  the  almost  constant  hammering  of  the  tinners.  He 
sent  an  officer  to  notify  Mr.  Arnold  to  have  the  noise 
stopped.  Mr.  Arnold  thought  that  that  was  an  unwar- 
ranted interference  with  his  business,  and  paid  no  attention 
to  the  order.  The  judge  then  sent  an  officer  to  bring  Mr, 
Arnold  into  court.  He  was  told  that  the  court  had  the 
right  of  way  and  that  he  must  have  the  noise  stopped  or 
be  held  for  contempt  of  court.     The  noise  soon  ceased, 

FIRST   SAVINGS   BANK, 

It  was  in  1842  that  the  Northampton  Institution  for  Sav- 
ings was  started.  There  had  been  no  savings  bank  in  the 
town,  and  Mr.  J,  H,  Butler  first  conceived  the  idea  of 
starting  one.  There  was  one  in  Hartford,  which  was  quite 
successful,  Mr.  Butler  thought  one  would  do  Avell  here. 
Dr.  Benjamin  Barrett  was  the  first  treasurer.  The  deposits 
at  the  end  of  the  first  year  were  $249.  The  office  was  in  a 
second-floor  room  on  Pleasant  street.  I  saw  Dr.  Barrett  in 
his  office.  It  was  said  that  he  carried  the  funds  with  him 
in  his  hat  for  awhile.  He  little  dreamed  that  in  a  little 
more  than  fifty  years  the  bank  would  have  deposits  and 
surplus  exceeding  four  and  a  quarter  million  dollars. 

SETH   PARSONS. 

A  familiar  character  about  town  was  Seth  Parsons,  the 
cripple.  He  was  a  simple-minded  man,  and  made  his  liv- 
ing by  selling  candy  and  popcorn,  stationing  himself  for 
that  purpose  near  the  entrance  to  the  post-office.  He  would 
make  a  rhyme  for  every  person  who  bought  of  him.  His 
rhymes  were  flims}'  affairs,  without  special  significance, 
He  passed  away  about  1850. 


H.    I.    HODGES   AND   H.    H.    CHILSON. 

A  man  often  seen  in  and  about  the  court  house  in  the 
years  from  1848  to  1863  was  Horace  I.  Hodges.  He  was  a 
lawyer— a  man  of  quiet  demeanor,  a  pleasant,  genial  gen- 
tleman, and  exerted  much  influence  in  town  and  county 
affairs.  He  held  various  offices,  was  a  trial  justice,  county 
commissioner,  and  judge  of  the  court  of  insolvency  during 
the  few  years  of  its  existence.  In  1863  he  entered  the 
United  States  army  and  died  in  the  service.  The  office 
of  the  court  of  insolvency  was  in  the  front  easterly  corner, 
which  had  previously  been  used  by  Major  Harvey  Kirk- 
land,  register  of  deeds. 

Another  lawyer  in  town  was  Haynes  H.  Chilson.  He 
enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  for  many  years  the  only 
Democratic  lawyer  in  town.  He  had  an  office  over  Fowle's 
jewelry  store,  and  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  school 
board  and  at  times  its  chairman.  He  was  elected  a  county 
commissioner  on  a  fusion  ticket,  with  Deacon  Joseph  Cum- 
mings  of  Ware,  Whig,  and  Joel  Hayden  of  Williamsburg, 
Free  Soil.  He  also  held  the  office  of  trial  justice,  was 
assessor  of  internal  revenue  in  the  war  times,  and  post- 
master under  Buchanan.  Previous  to  settling  in  North- 
ampton, and  while  a  student  in  college,  he  taught  a  select 
school  in  Williamsburg,  rounding  up  his  experience  there 
with  an  exhibition  of  the  forensic,  dramatic  and  musical 
abilities  of  his  pupils  in  the  dancing  hall  of  Gross 
Williams's  tavern. 


RINGING    OF   THE    DEPOT    BELL, 

A  custom  that  seems  queer  in  the  light  of  the  present 
times  was  the  ringing  of  the  depot  bell  fifteen  minutes  be- 
fore the  starting  of  a  train.  This  was  the  regular  practice 
at  the  depot  in  this  town,  beginning  with  the  opening  of 
the  road,  and  it  was  continued  until  a  new  depot  was  built. 


THE   OLD-FASHIONED   SEWING   SOCIETIES. 

In  these  modern  days  little  is  heard  or  seen  of  the  old- 
fashioned  "  sewing  societies,"  but  they  were  in  full  swing 
here  along  in  the  forties  and  fifties.  The  Old  Chnrch  sew- 
ing society  became  known  about  tliat  time  as  the  "  Dorcas 
Society,*'  but  the  common  name  for  them  was  the  "  sewing 
society."'  They  were  promoters  of  sociability  quite  as 
much  as  of  clothing  for  destitute  missionaries.  Their  fort- 
nightly meetings  were  occasions  of  much  importance. 
They  met  at  the  houses  of  the  more  prosperous  people. 
That  was  from  necessity,  as  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a 
church  parlor  or  a  church  kitchen.  The  Old  Church  Dor- 
cas society  often  met  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Samuel  Parsons, 
where  it  was  sure  to  have  a  royal  good  time.  That  house 
was  long  noted  for  its  generous  hospitality  and  good  cheer. 
The  ladies  came  in  the  afternoon,  and  just  before  tea- 
time  the  "men-folks"  appeared  in  large  force.  In 
the  old  days  the  church  vestry  had  poor  accommoda- 
tions. The  Old  Church  had  a  vestry  in  the  basement  of 
the  present  Gazette  office,  a  damp  and  gloomy  place.  In 
1856  the  parish  sold  its  vestry  to  J.  P.  Williston  for  $800, 
and  it  was  afterward  sold  to  the  Center  school  district, 
which  used  it  for  its  two  primary  schools  about  ten  years, 
when  it  was  sold  to  Trumbull  &  Gere  for  a  printing  office. 
A  wooden  chapel  was  erected  in  185(1,  Mr.  Williston  con- 
tributing largely  for  that  purpose.  When  the  new  church 
was  erected,  in  1876-7,  with  its  chapel  and  church  parlors, 
the  wooden  chapel  was  sold  to  Dr.  Porter  Underwood  of 
Holyoke,  who  moved  it  to  Center  street  and  encased  it  with 
a  brick  wall,  to  comply  with  the  requirement  of  the  town. 
The  church  parlors  and  kitchen  were  looked  upon  by  some 
people  as  doubtful  aids  to  the  church  work.  Should  the 
people  of  fifty  to  seventy-five  years  ago  reappear  here  now 
they  would  be  amazed  at  the  change  which  has  come  with 
the  introduction  of  the  church  parlor  and  the  church 
kitchen.  But  they  could  not  deny  that  the  change  has 
been  for  the  better,  as  it  has  tended  greatly  to  develop  the 
social  element  among  both  old  and  young. 


OLD   ENOS   KINGSLEY   HOUSE.   SOUTH   STREET. 


This  old  house  was  torn  down  in  1900,  to  make  way  for 
the  new  boulevard  road.  The  house  stood  almost  in  the 
center  of  that  road,  nearly  opposite  the  Oliver  Bridgman 
house.  It  was  more  than  one  hundred  years  old  ;  was 
owned  and  occupied  by  Enos  Kingsley  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  in  its  later  years  was  owned 
by  Deacon  Daniel  Kingsley  and  occupied  by  his  brother. 
Prof.  George  Kingsley,  the  music  teacher  and  organist. 
After  the  death  of  Deacon  Kingsley  the  house  was  sold  to 
George  S.  Hunt,  and  his  widow  lived  there  when  the  place 
was  bought  by  the  city  for  highway  uses.  The  style  of  the 
house,  with  the  "lean-to"  in  the  rear,  was  like  that  of  the 
Edwin  Kingsley  house  on  Main  street,  shown  in  the  picture 
on  page  55.  The  white  house  seen  in  the  rear  was  the 
Oliver  Bridgman  house,  then  fronting  on  Clark  avenue  and 
now  fronting  on  the  new  Soutli  sti-eet.  To  the  left  of  the 
Kingsley  house  are  seen  the  two  old  brick  school  houses  in 
the  South  Street  North  district,  one  on  each  side  of  School 
street. 

188 


CHAPTER  X. 

BUSINESS  OUTSIDE  THE  CENTER  —  SHOP  ROW  OF  OLDEN  TIMES  —  THREE 
OLD  STORES — PEWS  FOR  COLORED  PEOPLE  —  INCREASE  OF  READING 
MATTER — PASSING  OF  THE  FARMER  —  MONEy  SAFE  IN  THE  HOUSES  — 
OWNERSHIP  OF  PEWS — FIRST  ATLANTIC  CABLE  LAID — GREAT  TROUT 
FISHING  —  TO  SPRINGFIELD  AROUND  THE  OXBOW — NO  ICE  BUSINESS, 
COAL  BUSINESS,  OR  CULTIVATED  STRAWBERRIES — OLD-TIMES  CUSTOM 
OF  CARRYING  THE  WHIP — THE  MILITARY — OSCAR  EDWARDS  ELECTED 
COUNCILLOR — STRAIGHTENING  MAIN  STREET — THE  CALIFORNIA  GOLD- 
SEEKERS  OF  1849 — OLD  CHURCH  AND  COURT  HOUSE  RELICS — ANSEL 
WRIGHT  AND  HIS  SONS,  AND  WRIGHT  &  RUST  —  THE  GREAT  BANK 
ROBBERY  AND  THE  MILL  RIVER  FLOOD  DISASTER — GREAT  MEN  HERE 
A  HALF-CENTURY  AGO  —  PROGRESS  OF  RELIGIOUS  AND  POLITICAL 
LIBERALITY. 

And  what  is  writ  is  writ, — 
Would  it  were  worthier! 

— Byron. 

Aside  from  the  center  of  the  town,  on  Main  street,  and 
immediately  in  the  rear  of  the  court  house,  there  was  but 
little  business  done.  David  B.  Whitcomb  had  his  paint- 
shop  on  King  street,  opposite  the  residence  of  Squire  Wells  ; 
William  Closson  had  a  small  bakery  on  the  canal  bank,  on 
what  is  now  State  street,  a  short  distance  in  rear  of  the 
present  Edwards  church  ;  Luther  Davis  and  his  sons,  Rich- 
ard and  George,  had  a  wagon  shop  on  South  street,  near 
the  old  bridge;  the  "Lower  mill"  was  run  by  Silas  Per- 
kins, and  after  him  came  Silas  D.  Clark,  and  the  ''Upper 
mill"  by  David  Damon  and  L.  W.  Joy.  Spencer  Clark 
took  toll  at  the  Hadley  bridge.     William  K.  Wright  had  a 

9  139 


130 

wagon  shop  on  tlie  corner  of  Park  and  Prospect  streets, 
and  soon  afterward  began  tuning  pianos.  He  was  a  great 
antiquarian.  Lucius  Lewis  had  a  blacksmith  shop  on 
Allen  street,  and  sold  it  to  Levi  I.  Clark,  who  afterward 
moved  his  sho])  to  Center  street.  Joseph  Bornell  did  a 
small  business  as  cabinet-maker  at  his  place  on  the  brow 
of  the  hill  at  the  northerly  corner  of  Green  street  and 
College  lane,  and  A.  A.  Rankin,  stone-cutter,  had  a 
stone  yard  on  West  street.  There  was  not  much  in  a 
business  way  done  at  Florence.  George  W.  Benson,  the 
head  of  the  community  of  "  Bensonites,"  came  to  the  cen- 
ter regularly  every  day  for  his  mail,  as  did  Joseph  Warner, 
the  silk  manufacturer.  William  Clark  was  making  paper 
at  the  paper-mill,  now  the  Rogers  cutlery  works.  The  Bay 
State  village  was  not  born,  and  Florence  was  only  a  ham- 
let. At  Leeds  Thomas  Musgrave  was  the  big  man,  Benja- 
min North  ranking  next.  Leeds  then  was  a  dirty  place. 
The  woolen  mill  was  old  and  dingy,  a  low  wooden  building, 
and  the  small  one-story  tenement  houses  near  by,  below  the 
mill,  were  even  dirtier  than  the  mill.  A  more  uninviting 
place  did  not  exist  in  this  region.  Moses  Breck  was  the 
principal  carpenter  of  the  town  and  employed  a  considera- 
ble number  of  men.  George  W.  Edwards  was  his  fore- 
man, and  Elijah  Kingsley,  Cyrus  and  Linus  Noble,  Sumner 
Clark  and  Joshua  Sibley  worked  for  him  regularly  many 
years.  Thomas  Pratt  and  his  sons,  William  F.  and  Charles 
S.  Pratt,  were  the  leading  architects,  and  were  also  carpen- 
ters. Holton,  Eells  &  Co.  flourished  for  a  time.  Jabez 
French,  Asahel  Abell  and  Hophni  Clapp  were  also  carpen- 
ters. K.  A.  Burnell,  now  and  for  many  years  engaged  in 
evangelistic  work  in  the  West,  had  completed  his  appren- 
ticeship with  Moses  Breck  and  soon  began  to  build  houses 
and  stores  as  contractor.  The  first  house  he  erected  was 
the  Orman  S.  Clark  house  on  Phillips  place,  built  in  1848. 
In  1850  he  built  the  William  Strong  house.  In  1852  he 
built  the  Clarke  block.  He  was  a  zealous  Free  Soiler,  and 
still  lives  to  take  an  honorable  pride  in  his  early  anti- 
slavery  labors. 


131 

THE   SHOP   ROW   OF   OLDEN   TIMES. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  there  are  no  photographs  of  Shop 
Row  as  it  appeared  in  these  olden  times.  Mrs.  Lesley,  in 
lier  Recollections  of  her  mother,  Mrs.  Judge  Joseph  Lyman, 
records  that  sixty  to  seventy  years  ago  there  were  ten  stores 
on  the  Row.  Some  of  them  were  low,  wooden  buildings. 
All  the  roofs  pitched  toward  the  street.  The  rebuilding 
and  improving  of  the  Row  began  in  the  flush  war  times, 
when  money  was  abundant.  General  Cook  drew  a  plan  of 
Shop  Row  as  it  was  when  he  came  here  in  1828,  and  Henry 
P.  Billings,  register  of  deeds,  placed  it  on  the  county 
records,  where  it  may  be  seen.  The  stores  were  small,  none 
of  them  more  than  twenty-five  feet  deep.  All  were  heated 
with  box  wood  stoves  or  fireplaces  and  lighted  with  whale 
oil  lamps.  Heavy  wooden  blinds  were  put  on  some  of  the 
front  windows  at  night.  Business  hours  were  from  7  a. 
m.  to  9.  p.  m.,  with  no  vacation  for  either  proprietors  or 
clerks,  and  closing  on  week  days  only  on  Fast-day,  Fourth 
of  July,  and  Thanksgiving  day.  There  was  no  Christmas 
trade,  and  Christmas  day  was  scarcely  thought  of.  It  was 
not  customary  to  deliver  goods  at  the  houses  of  customers. 
When  people  bought  anything  at  the  stores  they  carried  it 
home.  The  first  delivering  of  goods  was  by  Winthrop 
Hillyer,  who  made  his  clerks  take  a  barrel  of  flour  on  a 
wheelbarrow  and  wheel  it  to  the  buyer  in  the  center. 
Andrew  S.  Wood,  when  a  clerk  for  Mr.  Hillyer,  wheeled 
many  a  barrel  of  flour  to  houses  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
store.  Mr.  Wood  became  a  partner  of  Mr.  Hillyer  and 
afterward  went  to  Montreal,  where  he  accumulated  a  com- 
petence. There  was  work  for  the  clerks  in  the  stores  in 
those  days,  which  the  clerks  of  these  later  times  know 
little  uf. 

THREE    OLD    STORES. 

There  are  three  stores  on  Shop  Row  that  have  been  de- 
voted to  the  same  business  since  their  establishment.  These 
are  the  drug  store  of  C.  B.  Kiugsley,  established  by  Dr. 


132 

Ebenezer  Hunt  in  1767  ;  the  jewelry  store  of  Phelps  & 
Gare,  formerly  B.  E.  Cook  &  Son,  established  in  1785  by 
Samuel  Stiles,  goldsmith  ;  and  the  bookstore  of  S.  E. 
Bridgman  &  Co.,  established  by  Simeon  Butler  in  1797. 
No  change  of  business  in  these  stores  in  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years.  There  have  been  but  few  changes  in  the  pro- 
prietors, and  never  a  financial  failure.  Handsome  fortunes 
have  been  made  there  by  most  of  the  owners,  by  means  of 
industry,  frugality  and  skillful  management. 

PEWS  FOR  BLACK  MEN  AND  BLACK  WOMEN. 

One  of  the  old-time  things,  which  it  is  best  should  not 
be  forgotten,  were  the  pews  in  the  old  church  and  the  Ed- 
wards church  set  apart  for  the  exclusive  use  of  colored 
people.  Those  in  the  old  church  were  located  in  the  ex- 
treme end  of  the  gallery,  behind  the  singers,  nearest  the 
door,  one  for  men  marked  "  B.  M."  and  one  for  women 
marked  "  B.  W."  Those  in  the  Edwards  church  were  also 
located  in  the  gallery,  in  the  rear  of  the  singers,  nearest 
the  door,  and  were  also  marked  ''  B.  M."  and  "  B.  W." 
They  were  not  much  used.  I  do  not  remember  of  ever  see- 
ing a  colored  person  in  one  of  them.  They  were  abolished 
as  distinctly  pews  for 'negroes  before  the  year  1850.  When 
we  read  of  separate  cars  for  colored  people  in  the  South, 
we  should  remember  this  old  custom  of  separate  pews  for 
the  colored  race  here  in  this  anti-slavery  stronghold. 

WONDERFUL   INCREASE    IN   READING    MATTER. 

One  of  the  great  changes  which  mark  the. progress  of  the 
half-century  is  in  the  increase  of  reading  matter.  Here 
the  advance  has  been  most  remarkable.  In  the  forties 
there  were  but  a  few  daily  |)apers  taken  here.  The  Daily 
Springfield  Republican,  started  in  1841,  the  first  daily  paper 
in  Western  Massachusetts,  had  but  a  small  circulation  here. 
There  was  a  small  bundle  sent  up  first  on  the  stage-coach 
and  after  December,  1845,  on  the  morning  train,  arriving 
here  about  nine  o'clock.     The  bundle  was  taken  to  one  of 


133 

the  stores  on  Shop  Row,  where  it  was  left  for  each  sub- 
scriber to  call  and  get  his  copy.  This  bundle  was  at  one 
time  taken  to  the  drj^  goods  store  of  J.  I.  West  &  Co.,  now 
Fearing's,  where  it  was  left  on  the  end  of  a  counter  near 
the  door.  The  number  of  copies  was  perhaps  about  twenty. 
The  number  of  New  York  and  Boston  dailies  taken  here 
was  small.  The  weekly  paper  met  the  wants  of  nearly  all. 
Many  families  had  no  more  than  one  weekly  paper,  and  in 
some  instances  one  copy  served  the  purpose  of  several  fam- 
ilies in  a  neighborhood,  being  passed  along  from  house  to 
house  during  the  week.  Payment  was  made  in  all  sorts  of 
farm  products— wood,  maple  sugar  and  syrup,  butter,  eggs, 
beef,  pork,  mutton,  lamb,  sausage,  berries,  nuts,  anything 
that  the  printer  could  use  was  taken.  Some  families  took 
a  religious  ]^aper,  mostly  the  Boston  Recorder  or  the  New 
York  Observer  or  New  York  Evangelist,  and  the  Mission- 
ary Herald  found  its  way  into  some  households.  Of  mag- 
azines there  were  only  a  few,  and  of  books  the  supplj'-  was 
limited.  Public  libraries  were  just  beginning  to  be  estab- 
lished in  the  larger  places,  but  there  was  nothing  seen  or 
heard  of  tliem  in  the  small  country  towns. 

Behold  now  the  change  I  The  weekly  paper  no  longer 
meets  the  public  demand  for  news,  and  in  place  of  the  few 
dailies  that  were  circulated  here,  there  are  now  many 
thousands.  There  is  scarcely  a  family  in  the  circuit  of 
daily  delivery  that  is  without  a  daily  paper,  and  a  thousand 
perhaps  that  have  moi'e  than  one.  Magazines,  weekly  re- 
views, illustrated  papers,  sjjecialties  in  art,  music,  science, 
sport,  mechanism,  trades,  professions,  all  sorts  and  every- 
thing, tind  eager  buyers  and  readers  in  almost  every  family. 
The  Sunday  papers  are  poured  upon  the  willing  people  like 
a  flood.  Of  books  there  are  hundreds  where  there  was  but 
one.  Public  libraries  are  in  almost  every  town  and  village. 
The  growth  of  reading  matter  has  indeed  been  marvelous. 
And  when  we  stop  to  consider  the  effect  of  this  vast  in- 
crease, the  mind  fails  to  grasp  its  fullness.  Information 
relating  to  current  events  in  all  parts  of  the  world  is  daily 
poured  into  almost  every  home,  and  the  products  of  great 


134 

intellects  from  the  libraries  are  readily  available.  The 
masses  of  our  people  are  thus  of  necessity  uplifted,  their 
minds  broadened,  their  jvidgment  shaped,  their  citizenship 
rehned  and  ripened.  The  end  is  not  yet.  This  process  of 
public  education  is  still  advancing.  It  is  a  tremendous 
power.  The  public  school,  the  academy,  the  college,  the 
university,  these  are  only  the  beginning  of  our  great  sys- 
tem of  popular  education. 

THE   PASSING   OF    THE    FARMER. 

The  decline  of  the  farming  industry  in  this  town  has 
been  very  marked.  About  a  hundred  years  ago  there  were 
only  a  few  of  the  population — less  than  a  score  perhaps — 
who  were  not  more  or  less  farmers.  As  late  as  fifty  years 
ago  farmers  were  the  principal  residents  of  Bridge,  Elm, 
South  and  Pleasant  streets.  Large  farmers  were  found  in 
the  very  center  of  the  town.  There  were  Capt.  Samuel 
Parsons  on  West  street,  Horace  Cook  on  College  hill,  Dea- 
con Enos  Clark  on  Elm  street  (now  the  South  wick  house), 
Justin  Smith  (east  of  Deacon  Clark's),  Horace  L.  Kings- 
ley  on  Main  street,  Lewis  Parsons  on  South  street,  J.  Smith 
Parsons  on  Maple  street,  William  F.  Kingsley  on  Pleasant 
street,  Elislia  Graves  on  Market  street,  Lyman  Parsons, 
Josiah  Parsons,  John  B.  Graves,  Christopher  Wright  and 
Luther  Clark  on  Bridge  street,  Henry  Strong  on  Hawley 
street.  Deacon  Aaron  Breck  on  King  street,  William  Strong 
on  Hoi  yoke  street,  all  within  five  or  ten  minutes'  walk  of 
the  court  house.  Now  there  are  Imt  a  few  of  these  farms 
in  existence,  not  one  on  Elm  street.  Mr.  Kingsley  still 
holds  the  fort  at  the  old  farm  house  on  Pleasant  street,  and 
is  the  last  of  a  race  of  agricultural  workers  who  made  the 
town  famous  in  their  day. 

The  feeding  of  cattle  was  a  great  industry  here  in  the 
winter  seasons  fifty  years  ago.  There  was  a  good  market 
for  fat  oxen  at  Brighton,  and  thousands  of  the  choicest  of 
fat  cattle  were  annually  driven  there  from  the  Connecticut 
valley.     The  largest  feeders  of  cattle  in  this  town  were  the 


i35 

T>a,j  Brothers  on  South  street  (Nathaniel,  Leonard  and 
William).  They  sometimes  had  in  their  barns  one  hundred 
and  fifty  head  of  cattle,  selected  for  their  large  size.  They 
took  pride  in  getting  the  largest  oxen  they  could  find  in  all 
this  region,  for  which  they  sometimes  paid  fancy  prices. 
They  also  fed  great  numbers  of  sheep  and  at  times  had  one 
thousand  sheep  in  their  yards.  Other  large  feeders  were 
D.  Munroe  Clapp,  Jonathan  Strong  and  Col.  Calvin  Strong, 
of  South  street,  John  B.  Graves  of  Bridge  street,  Capt. 
Samuel  Parsons  of  West  street,  and  Samuel  Day  of  Welch 
End.  This  industry  was  destroyed  by  the  competition  of 
the  West,  where  cattle  were  grown  on  government  lands 
free  of  cost,  except  the  expense  of  herding  them.  Farm- 
ing is  now  less  profitable  here  than  in  former  years,  and 
less  popular.  The  farmer  has  gradually  given  way  to  the 
demands  of  other  interests  and  his  lands  in  the  center  have 
been  taken  for  more  profitable  purposes.  The  feeding  of 
so  many  cattle  enabled  the  farmers  to  turn  their  hay  and 
grain  into  cash,  and  the  fertilizer  thus  obtained  enriched 
the  land,  making  it  very  productive.  Meadow  land  sold 
here  in  the  palmy  days  of  the  sixties  at  $300  an  acre,  and 
holders  of  such  lands  called  themselves  rich.  To-day 
meadow  land  is  plenty  at  $50  an  acre,  with  few  buyers. 

PEOPLE   KEPT    THEIR   MONEY    IN    THEIR   OWN    HOUSES. 

Not  many  of  the  people  of  the  town,  aside  from  a  few 
of  the  leading  business  men,  did  business  with  the  one 
local  bank.  The  farmers  generally  kept  their  money  in 
their  own  houses.  Some  of  them  had  hundreds  and  some- 
times thousands  of  dollars  on  hand  at  a  time.  They  bor- 
rowed of  one  another.  If  is  related  that  one  of  the  princi- 
pal farmers  of  the  town,  on  loaning  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  to  one  of  his  brother  farmers,  declined  to  take  a 
note  for  it.  Few  of  the  householders  locked  their  doors  at 
night,  and  such  a  thing  as  locking  a  barn  door  was  not 
thought  of.  The  ''  floating  population '"  was  small  in  those 
days. 


l3d 


OWNERSHIP   OF   PEWS. 


The  pews  in  the  Ohl  Church  were  owned  by  individnals, 
and  were  bought  and  sold  the  same  as  any  other  personal 
property.  They  were  valued  according  to  location,  some 
at  S20,  others  at  $50  and  $75,  and  the  most  desirable  at 
$150.  They  frequently  changed  ownership,  about  like 
other  property.  The  high-priced  pews  were  in  the  broad 
aisle.  Among  the  higher-priced  pew-owners  were  Lewis 
Strong,  Eliphalet  Williams,  Isaac  C.  Bates,  J.  P.  Willis- 
ton,  Judge  Dewey,  Dr.  Benjamin  Barrett,  and  John 
Clarke.  Parish  taxes  were  assessed  upon  the  pew-owners. 
This  system  of  pew-ownership  prevailed  in  all  the  churches 
in  this  region,  but  it  was  unsatisfactory.  It  ceased  grad- 
ually and  was  discarded  by  the  First  Parish  about  1856, 
though  some  held  on  to  their  pews  until  the  meeting-house 
was  burned.  Pew-ownership  had  its  advantages,  as  it  gave 
a  family  owning  a  pew  an  abiding  sitting-place  in  the 
meeting-house,  where  it  could  not  be  disturljed.  The  occu- 
pants of  the  pews  in  the  north  end  of  the  house,  east  of  the 
pulpit,  about  1850,  were  Lyman  Parsons,  Henry  Lathrop, 
J.  Stebbins  Lathrop,  Osmyn  Baker,  Charles  Delano,  and 
Joseph  C.  Clark  ;  and  west  of  the  pulpit  were  Capt.  Sam- 
uel Parsons  and  Charles  G.  Starkweather. 

THE    FIRST   ATLANTIC   CABLE    LAID. 

News  of  the  laying  of  the  first  Atlantic  cable  was  re- 
ceived in  Northampton  on  the  otli  of  August,  1858,  in  the 
afternoon.  The  Courier  had  anticipated  its  arrival  and 
made  arrangements  for  issuing  an  extra.  As  soon  as  it 
arrived  a  small  sheet  was  issued,  announcing  the  great 
news.  There  was  great  excitement  among  all  the  people. 
Everybody  was  rejoiced.  The  great  cannon  was  brought 
out  and  a  salute  of  thirteen  guns  fired.  The  cannon  was 
stationed  near  the  old  town  hall  and  was  manned  by  Capt. 
James  H.  Weatherell  and  William  F.  Kingsley.  Every 
church  bell  in  town  was  rung  for  one  hour.  Three  or  four 
editions  of  the  Extra  Courier  were  issued  as  the  news  of 


13t 

the  successful  laying  of  the  cable  arrived,  and  3000  to  4000 
copies  were  printed  and  distributed  gratuitously.  The 
extras  were  printed  on  a  small  foot-power  press  recently 
bought  by  John  and  Lyman  Metcalf,  job  printers. 

GOOD   TROUT   FISHING   IN   THE   OLD   TIMES. 

Now  a  few  words  about  the  old-times  fishing.  When  a 
boy  I  fished  the  brooks  of  Williamsburg  with  great  indus- 
try, pleasure  and  success.  They  seemed  larger  then  than 
they  do  now,  and  were  alive  with  trout.  One  day,  sixty 
years  ago,  early  in  the  morning,  after  a  good  rain,  I  went 
to  the  head  of  Unquomonk  brook,  on  Petticoat  hill,  think- 
ing to  have  the  brook  all  to  myself.  But  another  boy  was 
ahead  of  me.  He  was  Whitney  L.  Warner,  now  a  mer- 
chant and  postmaster  in  Sunderland,  who  was  then  living 
with  his  grandfather,  Dea.  Sylvanus  Hubbard,  on  Petticoat 
hill.  I  overtook  him  a  few  rods  below  George  Davenport's 
mow-lot,  (how  mad  Uncle  George  was  to  ^  see  the  boys 
tramping  down  his  grass),  and  we  fished  along  together 
until  we  reached  '"  Scrub  street"  road,  below  Almon  War- 
ner's. Our  combined  catch  numbered  275,  and  included 
some  half-pounders.  Meekins  brook  and  the  Joe  Wright 
brook  were  famous  trout  streams,  and  large  trout  were 
caught  from  the  main  river  above  and  below  the  village. 
I  often  saw  Abisha  Stearns  catch  trout  from  under  the  dam 
back  of  Ills  wool-carding  mill  near  the  center  bridge. 

After  I  came  to  Northampton  I  followed  the  streams  with 
the  same  zeal  and  success.  There  was  a  little  stream  west 
of  Florence,  flowing  from  David  Lee  Child's  farm,  that 
always  yielded  fine  trout.  Broad  brook,  that  came  down 
from  North  Farms  to  Wilkie's  pond  in  Hatfield,  was  a 
great  trout  stream,  and  I  caught  many  one-pound  trout 
from  it.  Denniston's  meadow  yielded  some  good  ones. 
The  Roberts  meadow  brooks  were  then  fine  fishing  streams, 
and  one  pound  and  pound  and  a  half  trout  were  often 
caught  there. 

The  fishermen  were  not  so  plenty  in  those  days  as  they 

10 


138 

are  now,  but  there  were  some  who  were  very  successful. 
Dr.  Meekljis,  Henry  Childs,  Jerry  Wells,  I.  N.  Kneeland, 
Lyman  Metcalf  and  Henry  ().  Edwards  were  the  leading 
trout  fishermen.  One  afternoon  in  June,  1853  or  1854, 
Wells,  Metcalf  and  another  went  to  the  streams  above 
Wilkie's  saw-mill  in  West  Hatfield.  They  hitched  tlieir 
horse  in  the  woods  wliere  a  road  crosses  the  brook  some 
distance  above  the  old  Hubbard  pond.  There  was  then  a 
dilapidated  saw-mill  at  this  pond.  Metcalf  and  the  third 
man  went  up  the  two  streams  above  the  road,  and  Jerry 
went  down.  Jerry  struck  the  head  of  the  Hubbard  pond, 
and  such  fishing  lie  had  never  seen  before.  The  water  was 
literally  alive  with  trout,  ranging  in  size  from  three  to  six 
ounces.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  he  reached  the 
pond  and  he  fished  until  it  was  quite  dark.  His  fellow- 
fishermen,  with  nearly  empty  baskets,  waited  for  him  at 
the  wagon  and  had  almost  given  him  up  for  lost,  when  he 
appeared  to  them  loaded  down  with  fish.  His  basket  was 
full  and  he  had  two  big  strings  besides,  in  all  over  forty 
pounds.  Naturally  his  success  set  the  whole  party  crazy. 
I  was  invited  to  join  them  the  next  time  they  went.  Of 
course  I  accepted.  The  day  came,  Jerry,  Metcalf,  and  I, 
with  one  of  Samuel  Simmons's  "  cheerful  drivers,"  started 
for  the  happy  land.  It  was  a  cloudy  day.  We  headed  u]) 
through  Elm  street  and  then  turned  northward,  through 
Franklin  street  to  Slough  hill,  so  as  to  avoid  indicating  to 
Childs  and  others  the  place  by  our  course.  We  approached 
the  pond  witli  the  same  caution.  Presently  we  got  in  our 
work.  And  such  fishing  !  Nothing  like  it  was  ever  before 
known  in  this  region.  The  trout  were  as  ready  for  us  as 
we  were  ready  for  them.  They  bit  at  every  drop  of  the 
hook.  It  was  fun  to  the  brim  for  us.  Three  happier  fish- 
ermen never  baited  a  hook  or  cast  a  line.  When  we  quit 
fishing  we  had  seventy-eight  pounds  of  trout — Jerry  thirty- 
six,  Metcalf  eighteen,  and  I  twenty-four.  We  visited  the 
pond  many  times  afterward,  but  we  never  duplicated  that 
catch,  though  we  always  had  good  luck.  There  was  never 
such  a  prolific  breeding  place  for  trout.     They  seemed  to 


I 


grow  tliere  spontaneously,  like  mosquitoes.  The  pond  had 
been  seldom  visited  by  fishermen,  but  there  was  one  man 
who  knew  of  it,  and  for  years  he  had  the  sport  all  to  him- 
self. That  man  was  Spencer  Phelps,  who  lived  near  the 
old  Catholic  church  on  King  street.  He  fished  for  a  living 
and  sold  his  fish  to  Captain  Brewster  of  the  Mansion  House. 
Day  after  day  he  went  to  this  pond,  walking  all  the  wa,j, 
waded  in,  and  cau^^ht  as  many  as  he  wanted.  He  followed 
this  so  long  that  he  became  crippled  by  rheumatism  and 
was  unable  to  get  to  the  pond. 

In  those  years,  the  forties  and  fifties,  the  brooks  of  this 
region  were  well  stocked  with  trout.  I  used  to  go  annually 
in  May,  to  Capt.  Otis  Taylor's,  on  Chester  Hill,  for  several 
days'  fishing.  In  1S54  I  was  there  four  days  and  caught 
ten  pounds  of  fine  trout  each  day,  from  Cook  brook  and 
Abbott  brook.     One  hole  yielded  seventeen  trout. 

TO   SPRINGFIELD   AROUND   THE   OXBOW. 

In  the  forties  the  travel  to  Springfield  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river  all  had  to  go  by  the  Fort  hill  road,  around  the 
"  oxbow,"  past  the  house  of  Augustus  Clapp.  The  meadow 
road  direct  from  Maple  street  to  Mount  Tom  was  not  built 
until  about  1850.  There  had  been  loud  calls  for  it,  but 
Easthampton  opposed  it,  as  it  threw  the  cost  of  the  bridge 
at  Mount  Tom  on  to  that  town.  When  built  it  became  a 
great  public  convenience. 

NO   ICE   BUSINESS,    COAL,    OR   CULTIVATED   STRAWBERRIES. 

When  I  came  to  town,  there  was  no  such  thing  here  as 
the  ice  business  ;  the  cultivation  of  the  strawberry  had  not 
begun  ;  and  the  coal  trade  was  just  beginning.  Wright  & 
Rust  first  began  to  harvest  ice,  and  Lewis  Mclntyre  was 
the  first  coal-dealer.  The  first  cultivated  strawberries  were 
raised  in  1846  by  George  Kellogg,  who  lived  on  the  north 
side  of  the  road,  a  little  distance  beyond  the  Welch  End 
bridge  and  a  few  rods  west  of  Samuel  Day's.  He  had  a 
small  strawberry  bed  in  front  of  his  house,  and  he  took 


140 

some  of  the  berries  down  to  the  Herald  office,  where  they 
produced  a  sensation. 

CARRYING  THE  WHIP  OVER  THE  SHOULDER. 

In  the  olden  times  there  was  a  custom  which  has  disap- 
peared with  the  advancing  years.  It  was  almost  a  univer- 
sal practice  for  men  when  driving  a  horse  in  a  wagon  or 
"  cutter/"  to  carry  the  whip  over  the  right  slioulder.  This 
came  from  the  absence  of  a  place  in  the  vehicle  to  stand 
the  whip.  The  whip  socket  came  with  the  advent  of  the 
spring  buggy  along  in  the  forties,  and  from  that  time  the 
old  custom  of  carrying  the  whip  swung  over  the  shoulder 
began  to  disappear.  It  was,  however,  a  fine  old  custom. 
How  grand  the  old  fellows  looked,  when  riding  along  with 
that  moderation  which  was  so  characteristic  of  the  times, 
whip  in  hand  and  poised  over  the  shoulder  at  about  the 
angle  of  a  well-sweep  at  rest.  It  is  rare  that  this  old  cus- 
tom is  seen  in  these  later  days.  But  I  saw  it  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1903,  when  riding  on  an  electric  car  between  Hay- 
denville  and  Williamsburg.  There  was  George  Ames  of 
Haydenville,  the  veteran  tinner  and  stove-dealer.  He  was 
riding  along,  like  a  Rip  Van  Winkle,  whip  in  the  old-times 
position,  a  veritable  picture  of  the  men  I  used  to  see  every 
day  when  a  boy.  How  good  he  looked  ! —  so  stately,  solid, 
substantial,  contented.  It  set  me  right  back  sixty  years. 
The  whips  in  the  old  days  were  not  like  the  fancy  whips  of 
modern  times.  They  were  made  of  rattan  stocks,  covered 
with  leather,  and  the  lash  was  heavy,  with  a  big  bulge  at 
the  upper  end.  Those  old  whips  lasted  many  years.  Peace 
to  the  old-timers  who  carried  the  upright  whip,  and  honor 
to  the  ancient  custom  ! 

THE   MILITARY   COMPANY. 

In  1845  there,  was  a  flourishing  military  company  here. 
John  B.  Augur  and  William  F.  Arnold  held  the  office  of 
captain  about  that  time,  and  Henry  Cliilds  was  ensign.  It 
was  a  liigh  honor  to  be  a  member  of  this  company.     At 


141 

about  that  year.  Colonel  Tliroop,  a  United  States  army  offi- 
cer, who  had  been  living  at  Haydenville,  was  engaged  to 
drill  this  company.  He  was  a  tall,  well-bnilt  man,  a  fine 
military  figure,  and  made  an  imposing  appearance  on 
parade.  The  parading  of  the  military  in  Main  street  was 
always  a  notable  occasion.  The  final  street  performance  of 
training  day  took  place  in  front  of  the  Warner  House, 
where  the  company  was  drawn  up  for  its  best  endeavors. 

OSCAR   EDWARDS   ELECTED   COUNCILLOR. 

A  political  contest  that  attracted  widespread  attention 
was  that  which  resulted  in  the  election  of  Oscar  Edwards 
of  Northampton  to  the  Governor's  Council  in  1879.  The 
Republican  nomination  that  year  was  generally  conceded  to 
Hampshire,  and  by  all  rules  of  fairness  and  courtesy  it 
belonged  to  the  Eastern  section  of  the  county.  Rufus  D. 
Woods  of  Enfield  was  the  choice  of  that  section,  which 
pressed  for  his  nomination.  Unexpectedly  the  choice  fell 
upon  Richmond  Kingman  of  Cummington.  There  was 
great  dissatisfaction  throughout  Hampshire  county,  and  the 
spirit  of  revolt  was  in  the  air.  The  Democrats  nominated 
Mr.  Edwards,  and  all  shades,  of  the  opposition  rallied  to 
his  support  with  enthusiasm.  Hampshire  county  gave  him 
a  majority  of  1969,  and  Hampden  county  added  1168  to  it. 
Berkshire  gave  Kingman  758  majority,  leaving  Mr.  Ed- 
wards a  majority  of  2379  in  the  district.  The  next  year 
Mr.  Woods  received  the  Republican  nomination  and  was 
elected.  Mr.  Kingman  felt  his  defeat  keenly,  and  soon 
after  it  removed  to  Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  where  he  died. 

STRAIGHTENING    MAIN    STREET. 

After  Osmyn  Baker  bought  of  John  Tappan  the  property 
on  the  corner  of  King  street,  from  the  Willi ston  lot  to  the 
Connecticut  River  railroad,  including  the  Polly  Pomeroy 
house,  then  occupied  by  Prof.  Josiah  Clark,  as  stated  on 
page  71,  an  effort  was  made  by  Capt.  M.  H.  Spaulding,  C. 
H.    Dickinson,  Marvin  M.  French,  William  M.  Gaylord, 


U'2 

and  others,  to  have  the  lines  of  Main  street  from  King 
street  to  Market  street  straightened.  None  of  the  present 
bniklings  now  there  on  either  side  had  been  erected 
at  tliat  time.  It  was  proposed  to  bring  the  line  on  the 
Pleasant  street  corner  toward  Main  street  about  twelve  feet 
so  as  to  have  the  buildings  on  that  side  of  the  street  stand 
on  a  line  with  Shop  Row,  with  no  change  at  the  Hampshire 
House  corner.  Mr.  Baker  was  to  set  his  line  back  so  as  to 
make  it  straight  from  the  east  corner  of  the  court  house  lot 
to  the  corner  of  Market  street.  This  would  have  made  the 
street  considerably  wider  and  broken,  in  part,  the  bend  at 
Masonic  block.  For  this  change  Mr.  Baker  was  offered 
$2,500,  but  he  refused  to  accept  it.  .  After  the  buildings 
were  erected  he  regretted  that  he  had  not  accepted  the 
offer.  He  also  expressed  regret  that  he  sold  the  two 
wooden  buildings  and  the  land  on  which  they  stand  to  Mr. 
Crouch,  as  he  considered  the  tenements  unsightly  and  an 
injury  to  the  adjoining  property. 

After  the  negotiations  with  Mr.  Baker  failed,  the  county 
commissioners  were  petitioned  to  make  the  proposed 
changes,  but  they  refused.  Squire  Brewster  was  chairman 
of  the  board  at  that  time,  and  Mr.  Baker  made  strenuous 
oppo^sition.  Mr.  Brewster  several  years  afterward  said  he 
feared  that  the  commissioners  made  a  mistake  in  not  grant- 
ing the  prayer  of  the  petitioners,  but  it  was  too  late  then 
to  remedy  the  matter. 

THE    CALIFORNIA    GOLD    SEEKERS    OF    1849. 

The  California  gold  discoveries  in  the  later  forties  created 
great  excitement  throughout  the  country,  and  Northamp- 
ton had  its  share  of  the  gold-digging  fever.  In  1849  a 
company  was  organized  here,  called  the  Hoi  yoke  Mining 
Company,  with  Richard  Chenery  as  president.  There  were 
twenty-one  men  in  the  company,  including  Richard 
Chenery,  Marshall  Hubbard,  Horace  I.  Hodges,  Charles  G. 
Starkweather.  John  Prouty,  Ozro  C.  Wright,  William  S. 
Allen,  Edwin  C.  Clark,  Barton  Bisbee  and  Nathaniel  Tower 


143 

of  Northampton,  Frederick  Lyraan  of  Hockanum,  Samuel 
N.  Bosworth  of  Westlield.  E.  C.  Ciisliing  of  Perkins ville, 
Vt..  Frederick  B.  Phelps  of  Belchertown,  J.  G.  McKindley 
of  Chatham,  K  Y.,  Pliny  H.  Merrick  of  Wilbraham,  M. 
Nash  Hubbard  of  Williamsburg,  John  Fish  of  West- 
hampton.  Dr.  Samuel  Reed  of  Greenfield,  Francis  Baker  of 
Wilbraham.  and  Andrew  Bradbury,  station-master  of  Con- 
necticut River  railroad  at  Northfield. 

The  company  was  composed  entirely  of  young  men. 
Their  by-laws  and  articles  of  agreement  pledged  them  to 
industry,  to  an  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  to  pro- 
priety of  conduct  in  all  respects.  Each  man  paid  into  the 
joint  stock  8500,  and  was  bound  to  labor  for  the  mutual 
benefit  of  the  company.  They  agreed  to  stay  one  or  two 
years,  according  to  their  success.  They  took  with  them 
provisions  for  five  or  six  months  and  shipped  around  the 
cape  an  ample  supply  for  two  years.  They  took  the 
Isthmus  route  and  left  New  York  on  the  sailing  vessel  S. 
L.  Crowell  for  Chagres,  Feb.  9.  They  were  accompanied 
by  twelve  men  from  Enfield. 

On  the  2d*()i  February,  before  starting,  a  portion  of  the 
companj^  were  met  by  their  friends  in  the  vestry  of  the 
First  church,  where  the  Hampshire  Gazette  is  now  printed, 
when  prayer  was  oiTered  by  Rev.  E.  Y.  Swift,  pastor  of 
that  church,  and  an  address  made  by  Rev.  George  E.  Day, 
pastor  of  the  Edwards  church.  The  speaker  enjoined  upon 
those  who  were  about  to  depart,  the  observance  of  temper- 
ance and  chastity,  mutual  harmony,  adherence  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  gospel,  respect  for  the  Sabbath,  and  the  avoid- 
ance of  profanity  and  gaming.  He  likewise  reminded 
them  that  in  the  turbid  multitude  in  which  they  would 
mingle  they  would  be  the  representatives  of  the  morals  of 
their  town,  and  finally,  the  great  fact  was  impressed  upon 
their  minds,  that  there  is  a  treasure  to  be  gained,  in  a  life 
to  come,  ''vaster,  richer,  than  the  mines  of  Mexico,  or  the 
wealth  of  India."  The  address  was  printed  in  a  pamphlet 
and  the  company  supplied  with  fifty  copies. 

It  was  a  difficult  task  to  make  the  journey  across  the 


144 

Isthmus  ill  those  days  of  poor  means  of  travel,  and  it  was 
six  months  before  thesp  goki-seekers  reached  California. 
When  they  arrived  there  many  thousands  of  gold-seekers 
were  thronging  in.  all  filled  witli  the  desire  to  get  rich 
speedily.  Most  of  this  company  made  their  way  at  once 
to  the  gold  digging  regions,  but  they  met  with  small  suc- 
cess there,  and  soon  scattered,  each  man  looking  out  for 
himself.  Some  came  back  within  a  year  and  some  re- 
mained. Mr.  Chenery  obtained  a  government  office  and 
remained  there  until  he  died.  Mr.  Starkweather,  after 
trying  his  luck  at  digging  for  gold,  went  to  farming.  His 
brother  Alfred  went  out  the  next  year  and'  the  two  began 
farming  on  a  four  hundred  acre  ranch.  They  were  very 
successful,  crops  grew  luxuriantly,  prices  were  high,  the 
demand  good,  and  each  accumulated  a  handsome  sum  for 
those  days.  Charles  Starkweather  returned  to  Northamp- 
ton after  ten  years  of  life  in  California,  and  has  since  lived 
here.  He  wanted  to  go  back  to  California,  but  his  father, 
Haynes  K.  Starkweather  of  South  street,  was  getting  old 
and  infirm  and  needed  his  help  on  the  old  farm,  so  he 
stayed  here.  His  brother  Alfred  returned  to  Nortliampton 
about  ten  years  later,  on  account  of  his  poor  health.  After 
recovering  his  health,  he  returned  to  California,  and  is  now 
there,  engaged  in  farming.  Charles  Starkweather  is  still 
living  in  this  city,  almost  eighty-four  years  of  age.  An- 
other brother,  Haynes  K.  Starkweather.  Jr..  druggist,  also 
went  to  California  several  years  after  the  "forty-niners" 
went,  and  set  up  a  drug-store  in  Stockton,  remaining  there 
four  years.  He  also  prospered  well.  Mr.  Merrick  died  at 
the  gold  mines  three  months  after  arriving  there.  Only 
one  other  of  the  original  company,  Mr.  Phelps,  is  now  liv- 
ing. The  other  members  met  with  varied  experience,  but 
none  of  them  fully  realized  the  golden  expectations  which 
they  entertained  when  they  started  from  home. 

OLD   CHURCH   AND   COURT   HOUSE   RELICS. 

When  the   Old  Church  was  burned.  General  Cook  ob- 
tained one  of  the  large  step-stones  and  had  it  set  on  the 


145 

curbing  in  front  of  his  store  on  Shop  Row.  It  remained 
there  a  number  of  years,  when  it  was  removed  to  his  house 
on  Bridge  street,  where  it  is  still  doing  its  duty. 

When  the  old  court  lionse  was  taken  down,  the  corner 
stone,  a  big  boulder,  was  split  in  the  center  and  one  part 
was  taken  by  William  M.  Gay  lord  and  the  other  by  Clerk 
of  the  Courts  William  H.  Clapp,  and  set  at  their  houses. 
Three  of  the  granite  posts  that  stood  in  front  of  the  court 
liouse  are  now  in  use  on  Gothic  street  for  hitching  posts. 

ANSEL   WRIGHT    AND    HIS    SONS — WRIGHT    &    RUST. 

From  18-2-2  to  1870  among  the  most  active  men  in  town 
were  Ansel  Wright  and  his  sons,  George  F.  and  Ansel 
Wright.  Jr.  All  were  deputy  sheriffs,  and  they  did  most 
of  the  business  in  that  line.  Early  and  late,  through  storm 
and  calm,  heat  and  cold,  they  pnrsued  their  labors,  travel- 
ing over  the  entire  county.  They  were  especially  vigilant, 
and  it  was  rare  that  a  criminal  eluded  them.  The  elder 
Wright  was  often  reckless  of  his  own  comfort  and  safety. 
It  was  his  habit  to  ride  in  the  severest  weather  without  a 
buffalo  skin  or  lap-robe.  Another  of  his  habits  was  to 
leave  his  horse  unhitched,  and  the  animal  was  often  found 
at  considerable  distances  from  the  spot  where  it  was  left. 
One  time,  when  ht^  had  left  his  horse  in  front  of  the  court 
house,  it  strayed  into  the  little  park  iii  the  center  of  Main 
street,  pulling  the  buggy  over  the  railing.  If  he  spared 
not  himself,  he  served  his  horses  in  the  same  way.  He  was 
fond  of  a  joke,  and  had  an  aptness  for  telling  a  story. 
There  was  a  slight  impediment  in  his  speech,  which  some- 
times added  to  the  flavor  of  his  jokes.  A  woman  once 
asked  him  about  joining  the  Unitarian  church,  when  he 
gravely  told  her  that  "they  were  full  there,  but  he  pre- 
sumed she  might  get  in  up  at  the  Baptists  ;  and  if  any 
vacancy  occurred  he  would  let  her  know."  George  Wright 
was  a  man  of  remarkable  activity,  and  could  transact  more 
business  than  any  other  man  in  town.  He  had  the  rare 
faculty  of  remembering  names  ;   and  as  constable  of  the 


146 

town  he  always  held  the  ballot-box  at  elections  and  was 
able  to  call  every  man's  name  as  lie  came  up  to  vote.  He 
was  full  of  elasticity  and  would  jiimp  from  his  wagon 
before  tlie  horse  stopped.  He  was  ever  ready  to  befriend 
his  fellow-men  and  was  a  very  popular  man.  He  died  at 
an  early  age.  when  in  the  midst  of  his  vigor  and  useful- 
ness. The  Wrights  did  a  large  amount  of  business,  not 
only  as  deputy  sheriffs,  but  as  merchants  and  ice-dealers. 
They  raised  early  garden  truck,  and  with  their  neighbor, 
Theodore  Rust,  were  about  the  first  in  town  to  engage  in 
that  business.  The  firm  of  Wright  &  Rust  from  182:i  to 
1848  was  as  well  known  here  as  that  of  any  concern  in  the 
place.  Wright  block  and  Rust  block  still  stand  as  evidence 
of  their  industry  and  success. 

BANK  ROBBERY  AND  MILL  RIVER  FLOOD. 

The  great  bank  robbery  of  Jan.  26,  1876,  and  the  Mill 
river  flood  disaster  of  May  16,  1874,  might  well  claim  a 
place  here,  but  to  do  them  justice  would  require  almost  a 
book  in  itself,  which  it  is  hoped  that  some  prolific  writer, 
inspired  by  knowledge  of  these  events,  will  yet  issue. 
Money  and  securities  to  the  value  of  nearly  a  million  and  a 
half  dollars  were  stolen  from  the  bank,  and  one  hundred 
and  thirty-six  lives  were  lost  by  the  flood  ;  also  one  hun- 
dred houses  and  factories  destroyed,  twenty  bridges  swept 
away,  many  miles  of  road  ruined,  and  pro})erty  worth 
$1,500,000  wiped  out.  I  passed  through  all  the  exciting- 
scenes  attending  both  the  robbery  and  the  flood.  Each  of 
those  events  stirred  this  region  as  it  was  never  stirred  'be- 
fore. I  saw  Edson  at  work  on  the  bank  vault  after  it  had 
been  robbed  through  information  that  he  gave.  I  saw  the 
robbers  Scott  and  Dunlaj)  at  their  trial  and  when  they  were 
sentenced.  I  saw  the  excitement  of  the  officers  of  the  bank 
and  the  depositors  whose  securities  had  been  stolen.  I  saw 
the  crowds  of  excited  people  in  front  of  the  bank  while  the 
vault  was  being  opened.  I  heard  the  pleas  in  the  court, 
the  charge  of  Judge  Bacon  to  the  jury,  and  the  sentence  of 


147 

twenty  years'  imprisonment.  I  saw  the  prisoners  after 
tlieir  sentence  an(i  wlien  they  were  taken  from  the  court 
house  to  the  jail.  The  twenty-seven  years  that  have  passed 
since  the  robbery  have  made  sad  ijiroads  in  the  ranks  of  the 
principal  actors  in  those  exciting  scenes.  The  judge  who 
presided  at  the  trial— the  lawyers  who  conducted  the  pros- 
ecution and  the  defense— the  sheriff  and  the  deputies  who 
were  on  duty  at  the  time  — the  jailer  who  had  the  custody 
of  the  prisoners— all  are  gone,  their  voices  hushed  in  death. 
Only  two  of  the  bank  officials  remain  among  the  living — 
Oscar  Edwards,  the  president,  and  Henry  R.  Hincklej^  a 
director.  Of  the  bank  robbers,  Scott  died  in  prison,  Dun- 
lap  was  pardoned  about  a  year  before  his  time  expired,  and 
Edson,  the  worst  man  of  the  three,  who  turned  against  the 
robbers  as  he  had  turned  against  the  bank  before  the  rob- 
bery, long  since  disappeared  from  public  view. 

The  flood  disaster  was  even  more  exciting  than  the  bank 
robbery.  I  saw  the  on-rushing  flood  as  it  passed  through 
the  center  of  the  town  on  its  wild  sweep  to  the  sea.  A 
great  crowd  of  people  gathered  at  the  old  South  street 
bridge  to  witness  the  flood  pass,  and  to  see,  as  was  believed, 
the  old  bridge  swept  away.  As  soon  as  possible  I  started 
for  Williamsburg  to  write  up  the  disaster,  and  remained 
there  over  night.  People  all  along  tlie  way  were  excited 
beyond  measure,  and  gloom,  despair,  destruction  and  ruin 
were  spread  everywhere  along  the  route  of  the  flood.  The 
roads  were  filled  with  excited  people  for  many  days  after- 
ward. The  heart  of  the  public  was  touched,  generous  con- 
tributions in  aid  of  the  sufferers  flowed  in  from  all  quar- 
ters, and  the  state  legislature  came  to  the  aid  of  the  smaller 
town  with  an  appropriation  of  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  highways  and  bridges  were  reconstructed  and 
the  waste  places  were  in  a  measure  restored,  but  the  dead 
were  beyond  recall,  and  to  the  present  time  traces  of  the 
terrible  disaster  are  visible.  Ah  I  those  were  days  of  great 
events,  and  their  sad  memory  will  linger  until  the  last  par- 
ticipant in  them  passes  to  the  world  beyond,  and  the  tragic 
stories  will  be  told  and  re-told  with  undiminished  interest 
to  the  latest  generations. 


148 

THE    GREAT   MEN    OF   FIFTY    AND    SIXTY    YEARS    AGO. 

And  now.  what  of  the  people  ?  Nature  may  have  its 
charms  and  be  lavish  of  its  beauties,  as  it  is  and  has  been 
with  this  goodly  town,  but  something  more  is  needed  to 
give  it  character  and  make  it  the  ideal  place  of  residence. 
The  people  make  the  town.  If  the  people  of  a  town  are  not 
intelligent,  moral,  hospitable,  progressive,  alive  to  every- 
thing that  makes  for  good  citizenship  and  the  uplifting  of 
the  race,  the  wealth  of  its  natural  advantages  counts  for 
little.     What,  then,  of  the  people  of  Old  Northampton  ? 

I  pause  here,  and  with  thoughtful  mien  and  uncovered 
head,  contemplate  the  character  of  the  people  of  North- 
ampton in  the  limes  of  which  I  write,  now  fifty  and  sixty 
years  past.  It  is  pleasant  to  think  that  the  world  is  grow- 
ing better,  and  I  believe  it  is  :  but.  as  I  look  at  the  men  of 
forty,  fifty  and  sixty  years  ago  in  this  town,  and  compare 
them  with  the  men  I  see  around  me  to-day,  the  contrast 
seems  great.  Not  that  there  are  no  men  of  superior  moral 
and  intellectual  strength  here  now,  but  that  the  men  of  old 
seem  so  much  larger.  Strong  men  they  were,  big  men  they 
were,  strong  in  character,  large  intellectually,  great  in  abil- 
ity, marked  in  individuality,  big  in  achievement,  they  seem 
like  a  race  especially  fitted  for  the  great  work  which  fell  to 
them  to  perform.  They  had  not  great  wealth,  nor  great 
means  of  education,  but  they  had  strength  of  character, 
and  inherited  ability,  and  practical  training  in  the  affairs 
of  strenuous  life,  and  they  made  splendid  use  of  the  oppor- 
tunitie.'i  which  came  to  them.  They  tell  us  that  there  are 
just  as  good  and  just  as  strong  men  to-day  as  those  men  of 
the  past ;  that  the  men  of  our  youth  seem  larger  to  us  as 
we  grow  older  and  view  them  in  the  distance.  They  tell 
us,  too.  that  in  the  olden  days  the  common  people  were  not 
so  well  educated  as  they  are  to-day,  and  that  the  leading 
men  loomed  up  in  larger  proportions  by  contrast.  Perhaps 
there  is  truth  in  this.  I  have  tried  to  think  there  is.  But, 
somehow,  after  making  due  allowance  for  these  considera- 
tions, the  feeling  that  it  is  not  .so,  in  this  instance,  at  least, 


149 

lingers  and  will  not  depart.  I  am  constrained  to  believe 
that  the  men  of  the  past  were  of  stronger  and  more  stately 
brand  than  the  men  of  these  times.  I  have  talked  with 
many  men  and  women  whose  lives  run  back  more  than 
seventy  years,  and  they  all  tell  the  same  story  about  the 
comparative  standing  of  the  men  of  the  past  and  the  men 
of  the  present. 

Tell  me  where  to-day  there  is  a  character  here  the  equal 
of  Thomas  Shepherd,  the  friend  and  supporter  of  General 
Jackson  and  postmaster  eleven  years.     And  where  is  there 
one  who  can  match  Judge  Joseph  Lymaii,  clerk  of  courts 
twelve  years,  judge  of  probate  court  six  years,  high  sheriff 
twenty-eight  years.     And  one  who  is  the  equal  of  Isaac  C. 
Bates,  the  able  and  eloquent  lawyer  and  United  States  sen- 
ator.    And  where  is  there  so  brilliant  a  man  as  Erastus 
Hopkins,  whose  eloquence  charmed  even  the  great  Hunga- 
rian orator  and  exile.  General  Kossuth  ?     And  where  are 
the  men  like  Samuel  F.   Lyman,  Charles  P.   Huntington, 
and  Charles  E.  Forbes  ?     Point  me  to  a  man  the  equal  of 
John  Payson  Williston,  the  able  and  fearless  anti-slavery 
and  temperance  reformer  and  benefactor  of  his  town.    And 
where  was  there  ever  an  individuality  that  so  impressed 
himself  upon  his  times  like  Major  Harvey  Kirkland,  man- 
ager of  Hampshire  Mutual  fire  insurance  company,  builder 
of   business   blocks,    register   of   deeds   twenty-five   years, 
honest,  exact  and  unique  in  all  that  he  did  ?     And  where  a 
man  that  can  match  Jonathan   Hunt  Butler,   the  perfect 
gentleman,   merchant  prince,  and  genial  banker  ?     And, 
among  farmers,  tell  me,  if  you  can,  of  a  man  of  strength 
of  mind,  and  character,  and  influence,  like  Captain  Samuel 
Parsons.     There  were  many  others  here,  strong  and  able 
men,  like  Judge  Charles  A.  Dewey,  Lewis  Strong,  Henry 
Bright,  Drs.  Daniel  and  James  Thompson,  Dr.  Benjamin 
Barrett,    Oliver  Warner.    Samuel  L.    Hinckley,  Sylvester 
Judd,  Dr.  Sylvester  Graham,  Thomas  Musgrave.  Samuel 
and  Thomas  Whitmarsh,  William  Clark,  Osmyn  Baker, 
Charles  Delano,  Samuel   T.    Spauiding,    Samuel    L.    Hill, 
Chauncey  Clark.     Where  are  the  equals  of  these  men  ?    I 


150 

look  in  vain  for  them,  in  the  city  hall,  in  onr  bnsiiiess 
marts,  in  the  fornm  of  the  court  room,  in  tlie  halls  of  legis- 
lation, wherever  the  town  is  represented.  Gone  are  they, 
forever  gone,  these  men  of  renown  in  the  olden  times,  rep- 
resentatives of  a  great  generation.  Their  places  are  occu- 
pied, but  are  they  filled  ? 

PROGRESS    IN    RELIGIOUS   AND    POLITICAL    LIBERALITY. 

With  the  passing  of  these  sixty  years  there  has  come  a 
marked  change  in  the  religious  and  political  sentiments  of 
the  people  of  the  town.  In  religious  matters  a  half-cen- 
tury ago  there  was  much  exclusiveness.  The  "  old  church  *' 
was  the  one  "established  church,"  to  which  all  others  gave 
the  right  of  way.  The  Methodists  and  Baptists  were  weak 
in  numbers  and  wealth.  The  Uuitarians  were  not  consid- 
ered a  thorouglily  Christian  people.  The  Episcopalians 
were  scarcely  better.  And  as  for  the  Catholics,  they  were 
held  in  fear,  and  the  upper  end  of  King  street  was  thought 
to  be  plenty  near  enough  to  the  center  for  them.  The 
"  free-thinkers"  at  Florence  were  considered  no  better  than 
the  Catholics,  and  by  some,  not  as  good.  Neither  Catholics 
nor  free-thinkers  stood  any  chance  of  holding  a  town  office. 

Behold  now,  the  change  !  A  brotherly  feeling  has  spread 
its  broad  wings  over  all  the  town.  Charity  for  all  and  a 
broad  liberality  pervade  the  entire  community.  All  de- 
nominations fraternize  on  a  common  platform,  the  central 
point  of  Christianity,  and  all  co-operate  cordially  for  the 
moral  and  spiritual  uplifting  of  the  people.  Where  all 
religious  sects  seek  the  same  end  and  recognize  the  same 
head,  it  has  come  to  be  accepted  that  all  can  live  and  labor 
together  in  harmony  for  its  accomplishment.  In  secular 
matters,  religious  distinctions  count  for  little.  Few  stop  to 
inquire  whether  a  man  is  of  this  or  that  religious  denomi- 
nation, and  only  his  merits  are  considered. 

In  the  political  field,  also,  the  same  marked  change  has 
taken  place.  Up  to  about  fifty  years  ago  the  town  offices 
were  exclusively  filled  by  men  of  one  political  and  religious 


IM 

faith.  All  opponents  of  that  faith  were  so  far  regarded  as. 
enemies  of  society  and  antagonists  of  the  public  welfare 
as  to  be  excluded  from  official  positions.  Whether  Demo- 
crats or  Abolitionists,  all  received  the  same  nnqualified 
condemnation.  There  was  an  unction  that  went  with  it 
wliich  attested  its  genuineness. 

Mark  the  revolution  !  The  blow  which  shattered  this 
exclusiveness  was  the  anti-slavery  movement  begun  in  1840 
by  the  Abolitionists  and  which  culminated  in  the  Free  Soil 
demonstration  of  LS48.  Since  then  liberality  of  opinion 
has  made  rapid  progress.  It  has  been  discovered  that  all 
American  citizens  seek  only  the  good  of  the  town,  the 
state,  and  the  country,  and  that  such  differences  of  opinion 
as  exist  relate  only  to  means  of  attaining  the  results  which 
all  seek  to  accomplish.  In  place  of  intolerance,  there  is 
charity.  In  place  of  ostracism,  there  is  recognition  of  in- 
dividual rights,  on  the  broad  basis  of  character  and  ability 
to  serve  the  public. 

Thus  the  world,  as  it  relates  to  Northampton,  has  moved 
forward. 

CONCLUSION. 

And  now,  in  closing  these  Reminiscences, — having  writ- 
ten more  than  I  at  first  intended,  yet  leaving  unnoticed 
much  that  would  be  appropriate  here  ;  and  having  written, 
perhaps,  some  things  which  might  better  have  been  omit- 
ted ;  —now — 

Farewell!  a  word  that  must  be,  and  hath  lieen, — 
A  sound  that  makes  us  linger:  yet— farewell  1 

— Byron. 


ERRATA. 

On  page  84.  where  it  speaks  of  the  stone  wall  and  stairway  in  front 
of  the  old  town  hall,  "as  shown  in  the  frontispiece."  the  reference 
shotild  be  to  the  picture  of  Main  street  on  page  28  ;  and  on  page  99,  the 
name  of  Charles  C.  Clapp,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Hook  and  Lad- 
der company,  should  be  Charles  E.  Clapp. 


I 


PRESS  OF  GAZETTE  PHINTING  COMPANY,   NORTHAMPTON,   MASS. 


AUG  7  b 


^OONO^ 


